Ruth Langsford has recently opened up about her experience with sexual harassment in an article for Best magazine. She revealed that she was regularly sexually harrassed on her way to school when she was just 11 years old.
Ruth Langsford revealed in Best Magazine that as a child, she was the victim of sexual harassment. The presenter said that she was sexually assaulted on her journey to school. "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.”
The presenter revealed, "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.”
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She continued to say that the times were different in the seventies and these issues weren’t discussed. "I was young and nobody talked about these things then, so I didn't know what to do... so I did nothing. Just kept my wits about me and hoped it wouldn't happen again.”
She revealed that now she is older she questioned why she didn’t speak up about the harassment and urged other women to not make the same mistakes she made. “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 said.
Ruth, also spoke about her husband Eamonn Holmes in the article. Ruth revealed that although she appreciates her husband being an ally to women, he has no experience in dealing with the issues that women have to handle throughout their lives. Ruth said, "I have a husband who honours, respects, champions and defends women - however, he also has no experience of sexual harassment.”
In the article, Ruth revealed that she was inspired to write about this issue because of the movement against sexual harassment following Sarah Everard's death. Ruth said, "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.”
Ruth continued to leave her readers with a message of hope and a call to action to speak up. She said, "It's time to serve notice on bad men (not all men). Enough is enough – this end here. If left unchecked, one form of sexual abuse leads to another, and another."
If you have been a victim of sexual harassment and you need advice or just someone to talk to, please call victim support on 08 08 16 89 111.
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