Actress Tatum O’Neal posted about being assulted when she was only 5 years old

The child star who won her first Oscar at age ten recently posted to social media about her traumatic experiences.

In the wake of the Christine Blasey Ford case against Brett Kavanaugh, many other women have come forward to speak out about their own sexual assaults. These women now include veteran actor Tatum O'Neal who posted to Instagram yesterday with a heartbreaking account of how she was repeatedly assaulted as a child. https://www.instagram.com/p/BogVvgWhHMR/?taken-by=tatum__oneal The harrowing post began by Tatum explaining how she had, as a child, been blamed for everything that had happened to her;

"I am a woman and I have been sexually assaulted more than once !! It was not my fault when I was 5, 6 12 , 13 , 15. - All by older men who I thought were safe ! I rarely have known safety and was always blamed for the assaults and, my loudness , and curiosity."

Last year saw a number of former child stars speak out about sexual offences committed towards children working in the film industry. Most famous of these were from Stand By Me and Goonies star Corey Feldman and Dollhouse and Buffy actress Eliza Dushku. https://www.instagram.com/p/BNj_rKMBBIV/?taken-by=elizadushku O'Neal who has been an actress since she was ten years old went on to say that;

"It's taken in me almost 55 years to know how to advocate for myself."

The star has spoken out in the past about being neglected and abused but her latest post is particularly poignant and hard hitting. If you or anyone you know has been affected by this sensitive issue you can contact the Rape Crisis helpline on 1800 778888.