Padma Lakshmi shares her story of rape in response to the Trump-Kavanaugh scandal

‘I understand why a woman would wait years to disclose a sexual assault’

The Time’s up and Me Too movements may have taken place last year, but the momentum is definitely still going, with the #BelieveSurvivors and #WhyIDidntReport movements starting just this week, in response to the Trump-Kavanaugh scandal.

Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has been accused of attempted sexual assault by multiple women, something that Trump reportedly questioned, asking why Kavanaugh’s original accuser Christine Blasey Ford didn’t file a police report for years on the attack.

This week, US author and TV host Padma Lakshmi has spoken out in support of Kavanaugh’s accusers, coming forward with her own story of historic rape.

‘I was 7 the first time I was sexually assaulted,’ Padma stated in a tweet. ‘He was a relative of my mom’s second husband. I told my folks and they sent me away. #WhyIDidntReport’

‘The second time I was 16 years old and a virgin. He was my boyfriend. "Date rape" wasn't discussed in the 80's. I was horrified and ashamed. #WhyIDidntReport.’

She continued: ‘The third time I was assaulted I was 23. I thought that no one would believe me, because no one wanted to stand up to him. I had seen the way Anita Hill was treated when she came forward. #WhyIDidntReport’

‘I understand why both women would keep this information to themselves for so many years, without involving the police,' she wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times. 'For years, I did the same thing.'

Padma Lakshmi is just one of many celebrities supporting the #BelieveSurvivors movement.