Ashley Judd Speaks Out About Online Gender Violence in Powerful Essay

A few days ago it was revealed that Ashley Judd was planning to press charges against the Twitter users who were threatening her with sexual violence. Now the actress, who is a victim of sexual assault, has penned a powerful essay condemning online gender violence. The article is entitled ‘Forget Your Team: Your Online Violence Toward Girls and Women Is What Can Kiss My Ass.’ In it she talks about the threats made against her and the names she was called after making a comment about a sports game at the weekend. She wrote: “I read in vivid language the various ways, humiliating and violent, in which my genitals, vaginal and anal, should be violated, shamed, exploited and dominated.” Judd stars in the Divergent film franchise. The 46-year-old continued: “What happened to me is the devastating social norm experienced by millions of girls and women on the Internet. Online harassers use the slightest excuse (or no excuse at all) to dismember our personhood. “My tweet was simply the convenient delivery system for a rage toward women that lurks perpetually… The themes embedded in this particular incident reflect the universal ways we talk about girls and women.” Later on in the essay Ashley referenced the fact that she is a victim of sexual assault:  “I am a survivor of sexual assault, rape and incest. I am greatly blessed that in 2006, other thriving survivors introduced me to recovery. I seized it.” You can read her full essay by clicking here.