Women’s rights campaigners have hit out at Charlize Theron after she compared the media coverage of her private life to being raped. The ‘Million Ways To Die In The West’ actress told Sky News: “When you start living in that world, and doing that, you start feeling raped.”
When questioned about her severe choice of phrasing, she replied: “Well, when it comes to your son and your private life. Maybe it’s just me. Some people might relish in all that stuff but there are certain things in my life that I think of as very sacred and I am very protective over them.”
“I don’t always win that war but as long as I don’t have to see that stuff or read that stuff or hear that stuff then I can live with my head in a clear space, which is probably a lot healthier than living in that dark room,” she added.
Karen Ingala Smith, chief executive of the victim support charity Nia, told HuffPost UK: “Rape is rape. It is sex without consent. Using the word rape outside this context desensitises us and minimises sexual violence. The more we misuse and dilute the word rape, the more we play down sexual violence.
“I understand that media attention can be unwanted and intrusive. It is not rape or akin to rape.”…
South Africa Today – World News
