Anoushka Shankar: I was sexually and emotionally abused as a child
The daughter of legendary Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar has spoken out about sexual abuse she suffered as a child.
In a video published on YouTube in support of anti-violence campaign group One Billion Rising, Anoushka Shankar said: “As a child I suffered sexual and emotional abuse for several years at the hands of a man my parents trusted implicitly.”
The sitar player,23, originally from India, lived in America as a child and now resides in London. Her father Ravi died aged 92 in December.
“Growing up, like many women I know, I suffered various forms of groping, touching, verbal abuse and other things I didn’t know how to deal with,” she said.
She said she was supporting One Billion Rising, a movement started by American playwright Eve Ensler on the 15 anniversary of the V-day campaign, “for the child in me who I don’t think will ever recover from what happened.”
She said: “As a woman I find I’m frequently living in fear. Afraid to walk alone out night. Afraid to answer a man who asks for the time. Afraid I’m going to be judged based on the ways that I choose to dress. Or the make-up I might choose to wear.”
She dedicated her message to the Indian medical student who was fatally gang raped on a Delhi bus in December.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies