‘I was diagnosed with PTSD after sexual abuse’ reveals Abigail Breslin

Child star Abigail Breslin has opened up on social media about experiencing sexual abuse, with an explanation as to why she chose to remain silent. 

Earlier in the month, the Little Miss Sunshine actress revealed that she had been raped in an Instagram post for Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The post read: You are not obligated to have sex with someone that you’re in a relationship with. Dating is not consent. Marriage is not consent.”

Breslin then captioned; ‘I know my assailant’.

Following the announcement, Breslin shared an infographic, illustrating that out of every 1000 reported rapes, 994 perpetrators would walk free. After a user commented saying, “Reported rapes are the only rapes that count,” Breslin decided to bravely open up about the reason behind keeping quiet in the hope of helping other victims of abuse.

The post, which came with a trigger warning, began: “I did not report my rape. I didn’t report it because of many reasons.First off, I was in complete shock and total denial.

I didn’t want to view myself as a ‘victim,’ so I suppressed it and pretended that it never happened.”

She continues, “Second of all, I was in a relationship with my rapist and feared not being believed. I also feared that if my case didn’t lead anywhere, he would still find out and would hurt me even more. Thirdly, I knew how hurt my friends and family would be after finding out, and I didn’t want to put them through that.”

Finally, the star of Scream Queens admitted to being diagnosed with PTSD eighteen months after the incident.

“I have made a lot of progress since the event occurred, but I won’t pretend it isn’t something I struggle with. I still have flashbacks, I still get nightmares, I still jump when somebody touches me unexpectedly, even if it’s my best friend tapping me on the shoulder,”

She summerised: “To say that reported rapes are the only rapes that count contributes to the ideology that survivors of unreported rape don’t matter,” she adds. “It’s unfair, untrue, and unhelpful. It’s like if you got a black eye from getting punched in the face, but because you didn’t call the police, you didn’t really get a black eye.

Unreported rapes count. Reported rapes count. End of story.”