Kaya Scodelario won't be defined by harassment

23 January 2018

Kaya Scodelario has admitted she doesn't want to be "defined" by her sexual harassment story.

Kaya Scodelario

The 25-year-old actress alleged in a tweet sent in October that she had been sexually abused at the age of 12, and although she is humbled by the positive response she has received since coming forward to share her story, she hopes she won't be labelled by her past forever.

She said: "The response was wonderful, it was a relief but I am still dealing with it, and I am now dealing with a new side of it, which is this.

"I will be asked about it forever now. I hope it doesn't define me but it will always be under my name and I accept that - but I am proud I was brave enough to do it and I am grateful for the support I had from friends."

The 'Maze Runner: The Death Cure' actress admitted she shared her experience with sexual harassment in the hopes that she could inspire other people, as she would have felt "less guilty" about what allegedly happened to her at the time if she saw someone she admired speaking out.

Speaking to Metro.co.uk, she added: "It was taboo and it happened to someone we didn't know, and Me Too showed us it could happen to your friend, your sister, the women serving you food in a restaurant, it doesn't just happen in movies.

"And I remember thinking that if I was 12 years old and I had this horrific thing happen to me but I saw a woman I admired speaking up about it, it would have made me feel less guilty, and it would have inspired me to think 'this won't hold me back, this is something that has happened but I am not a victim'.

"So I thought if I can do that for one person then I owe it to my 12-year-old self."

In Kaya's tweets, she claimed she had been sexually abused 13 years ago, and thanked those who had spoken out before her for giving her the courage to share her story.

She wrote: "It's taken me 13 years to say #MeToo .He is still protected by 'family members' in Brazil. They've told lies to papers to try to silence me.

"No more. I want to thank every single person who has spoken out about sexual assault/harassment recently.You've given me the courage. To finally speak out and not be afraid. To everyone still suffering silently, you never asked for it. NOBODY DOES. (sic)"