Lena Dunham opened up about her rape last night at Variety's Power of Women event, explaining how she felt powerless. And how it's more than time to reverse the stigma, and take back the power that so many rape victims feel has been stolen from them.
Her speech came after being honoured alongside Glenn Close (for her charity Bring Change2Mind) and Kim Kardashian (for her work with the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles) as one of five women for dedication to their respective causes, and was real stand-up-and-applaud stuff. ''When I was raped, I felt powerless. I felt my value had been determined by someone else,' she said to the crowd. 'Someone who sent me the message that my body was not my own and my choices were meaningless. It took years to recognise my worth was not tied to my assault, the voices telling me I deserved this were phantoms, they were liars.'
She added: 'So as a feminist and sexual assault survivor, my ultimate goal is to use my experience, my platform and, yes, my privilege, to reverse stigma and give voice to other survivors.'
Glenn Close was also honoured, and spoke about another stigma: that of mental illness. Her sister has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, her nephew has schizoaffective disorder, and she spoke about her mother, who struggled with depression up until her death, two months ago. 'Help people realise they are not their illness. Help is available, that they are not alone, that their talents and insights are vitally needed,' she said, through tears. 'Whoopi, I feel Robin [Williams] here today. He would be whispering in my ear, "A couple of jokes would help right now."'
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.