Celebs Open-Up About Child Sexual Abuse To Say #FreeYourMind

Poorna Jagannathan joins the likes of Anoushka Shankar and Anurag Kashyap who’ve opened up about child sexual abuse

Silence has been the biggest trauma for Delhi Belly actress Poorna Jagannathan, a survivor of sexual abuse since she was 9. She finally opened up about it in a video befittingly titled ‘Breaking the Cycle of Violence’. Poorna joins other celebrities who have previously opened up about having been subjected to abuse as a child. Their courage and boldness remind us all to #FreeYourMind. Read through some of their compelling quotes on it:

Poorna Jagannathan, Actress

When you break silence, you break the cycle of violence. My first encounter with sexual violence was probably when I was 9. There was a neighbour and family friend who got his hands on me. He obviously told me not to tell anyone. I have encountered so many incidents as a child and as a young adult. They were violent but I wouldn’t speak about it. There was a code that you wouldn’t talk about it. I always thought that silence was the best, safest, most acceptable way of coping.
– Poorna Jagannathan

Anoushka Shankar, Sitarist

As a child I suffered sexual and emotional abuse for several years at the hands of a man whom my parents trusted implicitly. Growing up like most women I know, I suffered various forms of groping, touching, verbal abuse and other things I didn’t know how to deal with.
– Anoushka Shankar

Kalki Koechlin, Actress

Child sexual abuse is a reality I have lived with for a long time and many of my women friends have gone through some form of CSA. It’s just so out there, so much of it that I think it’s not something that should be ignored. I don’t think a public platform is the only way to talk about CSA, I think sometimes it’s important to speak about it, break the silence; other times it’s important to have a place to go to where you can trust somebody whether it be a psychiatrist, a family member, or a social set-up, an organization which helps when you talk about these things.
– Kalki Koechlin

Anurag Kashyap, Filmmaker

I have forgiven the man who abused me. I met him after many years. He wasn’t some dirty old man. He was 22 when he abused me. He was guilt-ridden when we met. I decided to put the whole nightmare behind me and move on. But it wasn’t easy. I came to Mumbai brimming with angst, bitterness and a sense of violation and isolation. Thanks to Kalki, I am completely cured of my acrimony.
– Anurag Kashyap