Katie Price and Ruth Langsford praised for speaking out about sexual assault: ‘Their words reach millions of people’

Katie Price and Ruth Langsford have been praised for speaking openly about their own experiences with sexual assault.

In recent days, the My Crazy Life star has spoken candidly about horrific experiences of sexual assault, including being raped at age seven, and having ‘indecent’ photographs taken of her when she started out in her modelling career.

Just a day later, This Morning host Ruth revealed that while travelling to and from school as a child she had been ‘flashed at more than once’ and ‘followed a few times’.

Both women have been praised for speaking out, with charities Rape Crisis and The Survivors Trust telling Metro.co.uk that their comments may have helped others in similar situations.

Fay Maxted OBE, CEO of The Survivors Trust, said: ‘We know that many victims/survivors of sexual assault and sexual abuse never report what has happened to them, and sometimes never seek help for decades. 

‘Sometimes survivors feel a misplaced sense of shame or guilt about what has happened, or fear that they won’t be believed or taken seriously.  When someone who has a high profile speaks out about their own experiences of sexual assault, it opens up a social dialogue about it making it easier for other victims and survivors to speak out too and to seek the help and support they deserve.  

‘Katie and Ruth have helped other survivors immensely by speaking out and making it clear that anyone can be affected by sexual assault no matter who they are, and that there is a life after sexual assault. Their celebrity profiles mean that their words reach millions of people, helping to change attitudes about victims and survivors.’

Katie Russell, national spokesperson for Rape Crisis England & Wales added: ‘We know through our frontline work at Rape Crisis that sexual violence and abuse are still topics that aren’t discussed or understood nearly enough, especially considering the huge numbers of people impacted by them.

‘Many survivors tell no one at the time and the majority will never officially report what happened to them. This can leave some survivors feeling very alone and isolated, sometimes fearing no one else will understand or even believe them. When people in the public eye speak out about their personal experiences, it can really help others feel less alone and perhaps support them to overcome feelings of shame and self-blame.

‘In some cases, it might be the encouragement they need to seek specialist support or tell a loved one what they’ve been through for the first time. We want Katie, Ruth and all victims and survivors of any form of sexual violence or abuse, no matter when or how it happened, to know they’re not on their own. We see you, we hear you, we believe you, and we’re here for you.’

The Survivors Trust and Rape Crisis encouraged anyone who may be struggling to reach out, and their information can be found below.

Speaking about her horrific experience, Katie, 42, told Annie Macmanus on her podcast Changes: ‘I was raped as a kid at seven, that’s from my first book, I was in a park.

‘Then I got involved with this photographer who ended up being in prison and he was obsessed with me. He took indecent photographs that I thought was innocent at the time.

‘He’d take photos of me sticking my tongue out, which looks like young and girly but he’d look at them as sexual.’

Ruth, 61, wrote in her Best magazine column: ‘The Tube was my mode of transport and in the Seventies, it also seemed that perverts and predators were drawn to the same routes I took like wasps to jam’, she wrote.

‘These incidents all happened to me between the ages of about 11 and 16. I now ask myself why I didn’t shout, scream, kick up a fuss, report them to an official – all the things I would urge any girl or woman to do today.’

She added that Sarah Everard’s death ‘marks a line in the sand’, continuing: ‘No more writing off stalking, exposing and sexual harassment as simply weird or odd behaviour…something that women grit their teeth and bear.

‘Enough is enough – this ends here. If left unchecked, one form of sexual abuse leads to another, and another.’

Her comments came after the death of Everard, who was recently killed in Clapham while walking home from a friend’s house.

In the wake of her death, discussions about women’s safety have been prominent, with many women sharing their fears and their own experiences.

MORE : Katie Price recalls past sexual abuse including rape aged 7

MORE : This Morning presenter Ruth Langsford reveals she was sexually assaulted when she was 11