by IMAGE
29th Apr 2015
29th Apr 2015
Lena Dunham has written in the past about how she was raped while studying at Oberlin College in Ohio, and now the actress is speaking about the experience in public. At the recent Variety Power of Women event in New York City, the Girls creator took the stage to talk about how the experience she detailed in her 2014 memoir Not That Kind of Girl left her feeling powerless.
?I felt my worth had been determined by someone else,? she said, in a sobering speech you can watch below. She said she is using her platform to give a voice to the other survivors who cannot speak and are silenced. Dunham is now working with GEMS, an organisation that helps girls who have been exploited by the sexual traffic trade. GEMS helps get these girls and young women back into school and college.
The 28-year-old opened her speech with a few words on how she identifies as a feminist, and how there is no such a thing as a perfect feminist. While Dunham has come under fire in the past for some of her decisions, such as the primarily white cast of Girls and a chapter in her book about examining her younger sister’s vagina while she was a child, her willingness to speak about how her rape is a brave move. A round of applause for Dunham everyone.
Watch the full speech below.
Contact the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre if any of the information above has affected you in any way. drcc.ie
Follow Jeanne Sutton on Twitter @jeannedesutun