via tvoneblogs.com

Queen Latifah was brave enough to tell the nation a difficult story from her past. In this month’s Essence magazine she tells the world how a babysitter sexually abused her as a child and how that traumatic event has affected her life.

"He violated me,” Queen tells Essence, “I never told anybody. I just buried it as deeply as I could and kept people at an arms length." It’s not surprising that she was reluctant to speak out about it as a teen—most young people are embarrassed or ashamed after sexual assault and many cases don’t ever get reported.

She told the magazine how the emotional pain from the event had haunted her love life as an adult. “I never really let a person get too close to me. I could have been married years ago, but I had a commitment issue."

Even though it took Queen Latifah a long time to speak out about it, sexual abuse as a child is sadly not uncommon at all. A third of all girls and a fifth of boys are sexually abused by an adult during childhood. You can help young abuse victims speak out by finding your local child abuse hotline and put the number up at school.

What do you think of Queen Latifah’s story? Do you think it will help other young people speak out? Or will they be more likely to keep it to themselves—knowing that Queen kept it on the down low for so long? Tell us what you think! Comment below.