Actress Gabrielle Union reveals teen rape ordeal
FlashForward actress Gabrielle Union has opened up about her own rape ordeal after reading about a gang-rape in Richmond, California, last weekend that left her "sickened and really sad".
The Cradle 2 The Grave star wrote on her blog about her own nightmare, after she was left "sad more than anything" by the news of the gang rape of a 15-year-old girl at a high-school dance, where as many as 20 people are believed to have watched without calling for help.
"After googling the gang rape story in Richmond and reading comments on blogs, it just leaves me sickened and really sad," the actress wrote.
"The fact that race and socio-economics have been used to explain away a brutal gang rape... [is] just sad... a lack of regard for violence against women."
Her anger led her to relive her own horrific attack.
She wrote: "When I was 19 years old, I was raped.
"I was working at a shoe store in California, and the store was robbed. The person robbing the store ended up putting a gun to my head and raping me...
"I blanked out and had an out-of-body experience, like I was hovering above seeing this horrible thing happen to someone else... not me.”
She added: “That's why I now lobby for state legislatures across the country and the federal government to help raise funds and awareness for rape crisis centres...
"My goal is to never hear the words 'Me too' from someone, after I say, 'I was raped.'"
