Angela Bassett Recalls Childhood Molestation By Mother’s Friend

(Photo by Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images for The Rape Foundation)

Many know Angela Bassett for playing strong female characters on screen and being an inspiration to many women, young and old. Now, the 61-year-old strong woman is opening up and telling her own story about experiencing sexual molestation as a child.

On the red carpet, the “What’s Love Got to Do With It” star recently revealed at the Rape Foundation annual brunch in Santa Monica, Calif that when she was a pre-teen, her mother’s boyfriend entered her room in the middle of the night while she was sleeping and started to fondle her breasts.

“Fortunately, it wasn’t a complete assault, it was fondling, but it was devastating enough for a child who’s 12 or 13,” Bassett said, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Bassett is focused on making sure her kids know the importance of boundaries and being respectful of others.

Her and her husband, actor Courtney B. Vance are parents of 13-year-old twins, daughter Bronwyn and son Slater.

(Photo by David Buchan/Getty Images)

“You just want them to be aware,” the Oscar and Emmy Award-nominated actress said during last weekend’s Rape Foundation annual brunch this in Santa Monica, Calif.

“They’ll be in situations one day, and when a girl says no, both to him and to her, she means no,” she added.

She revealed the misconduct to her mother, Betty Jane Bassett — who didn’t hesitate to take quick action.

“Thankfully, to have a mother who could tell as soon as light broke that this happened and for her to expel him [meant a lot],” she continued. “That she heard me, believed me, and did something about it, I think was so empowering for me as a young teen, as a young woman.”

Here are some staggering statistics that are affecting young black girls:

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• There are more than 42 million survivors of sexual abuse in America. (National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse)
• 1 in 3 girls are sexually abused before the age of 18. (The Advocacy Center)
• 1 in 5 boys are sexually abused before the age of 18. (The Advocacy Center)
• – 1 in 5 children are solicited sexually while on the Internet before the age of 18. (National Children’s Alliance: Nationwide Child Abuse Statistics)
• 30% of sexual abuse is never reported. (Child Sex Abuse Prevention and Protection Center)
• – Nearly 70% of all reported sexual assaults (including assaults on adults) occur to children age 17 and under. (Children’s Advocacy Center)
• 90% of child sexual abuse victims know the perpetrator in some way. (U.S. Department of Justice)
• Approximately 20% of the victims of sexual abuse are under age eight. (Broward County)
• There is worse lasting emotional damage when a child’s sexual abuse started before the age of…

• … six, and lasted for several years. Among child and teen victims of sexual abuse there is a 42 percent increased chance of suicidal thoughts during adolescence. (American Counseling Association)

• “More than 90% of individuals with a developmental delay or disability will be sexually assaulted at least once in their lifetime.” (Valenti-Heim, D.m Schwartz L.)
• “There are nearly half a million registered sex offenders in the U.S. – 80,000 to 100,000 of them are missing.” (The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)
• “A typical pedophile will commit 117 sexual crimes in a lifetime.”

“Those who have the privilege to know, have the duty to act,” the “911” star later said in her opening remarks at the event, which she hosted. “And that means us. That’s why we’re all here today — to see, to hear, to learn and to never, never miss anything.”