Ruth Langsford has bravely revealed that she was sexually assaulted as a child.
Ruth Langsford
The 61-year-old TV presenter has written a powerful piece for her column in the latest issue of Best magazine in which she recalls the harrowing experience which occurred when she was travelling on the London Tube to and from school and a man put his "hand up my skirt".
The 'This Morning' host - who is married to Eamonn Holmes - said she was compelled to share her story of abuse following the demonstrations and wave of anger about violence carried out against women in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard in March.
Ruth wrote: "Not every man is a danger, not every man is a sexual predator or a murderer but they are also not us.
"The awful death of Sarah Everard has got a lot of women re-evaluating what we feel, what we have, or do, put up with – just by being a woman.
"I have a husband who honours, respects, champions and defends women - however, he also has no experience of sexual harassment.
"When I have the same conversation with my girlfriends, they all have frightening tales to tell.
"In my case, my earliest recollections all centred around travelling to and from school in London.
"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.
"I was flashed at more than once, followed a few times and a man once put his hand up my skirt on a crowded train.
"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.
"I was young and nobody talked about these things then, so I didn't know what to do ... so I did nothing.
Ruth hopes that Sarah's death will be a "line in the sand" moment from which women will no longer stay silent when they suffer abuse of any kind at the hands of men.
She added: "Sarah Everard's death marks a line in the sand. No more writing off stalking, exposing and sexual harassment as simply weird or odd behaviour ... something that women grit their teeth and bear. It's time to serve notice on bad men (not all men). Enough is enough – this ends here."
Sarah Everard disappeared after walking home from a friend's house in Clapham, South West London, on March 3, tragically the 33-year-old marketing executive's body was found in woodland near Ashford, Kent, a week later.
Metropolitan police officer Wayne Couzens has been charged with Sarah's kidnap and murder.
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