The actress was sharing her story in an effort to get the Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill of Rights Act implemented in all 50 states.
Actress Evan Rachel Wood wept as she testified before Congress about being sexually assaulted and the need for more legal protections for abuse survivors.
The Westworld star told of being raped, tortured and mentally abused by a former boyfriend. She urged all 50 states to implement the Sexual Assault Survivor's Bill of Rights Act.
"It started slow, but escalated over time," Wood said, "including threats against my life, severe gaslighting and brainwashing, waking up to the man that claimed to love me raping what he believed to be my unconscious body."
The worst part, she said during her testimony before a House judiciary subcommittee, was "sick rituals of binding me up by my hands and feet to be mentally and physically tortured until my abuser felt I had proven my love to them."
Wood, 30, said she was attacked by a different abuser later in her life, when she was pushed into a storage closet at a bar and raped. "Being abused and raped previously made it easier for me to be raped again, not the other way around."
The Sexual Assault Survivor's Bill of Rights mandates that all victims receive free rape kits and are notified of the results. Those attacked also have the option of requesting their rape kits to be preserved throughout the statute of limitations.
RELATED STORIES
