Emily Atack has come out after receiving an outpouring of support following the announcement of her new BBC documentary, Asking For It?, and says she is ‘full with hope’ as a result of the response.
The Inbetweeners star, who has previously spoken about being compelled to call the police after getting rape threats, stars in the feature-length film and has spoken about the personal documentary before it airs.
She analyses how ‘something so nasty, aggressive, vicious and violent’ as sexual harassment has emerged and how it could be dealt through education while calling on the government to make catcalling a ‘public health concern’.
The 33-year-old actress has already received a flood of encouraging messages, many of which praise her bravery in speaking out on such a difficult matter.
‘I want to thank every single person who has sent me a beautiful message today,’ Atack posted on Twitter in response to the reaction.
‘It’s a really nerve-racking and sensitive subject for me to discuss, so I sincerely appreciate your understanding and support.
I want to thank every single person who has sent me a lovely message today. Itâ€
s an incredibly nerve wracking and emotional topic for me to talk about, so I really appreciate your sensitivity and support. It fills me with hope â¤ï¸
— Emily Atack (@EmAtack) January 24, 2023
‘It fills me with hope’.
This comes after Atack told The Times that the online trolling and sexual abuse she faces, especially over lockdown, left her feeling like she’s ‘being sexually assaulted hundreds of times a day’.
She elsewhere told Radio Times that she’s ‘terrified’, saying: ‘The second I hear a bump in the night I go, “Oh, that’s it. I’m about to be raped and killed”. I’m scared of being physically alone a lot of the time.’
Since speaking out, Atack has been showered with support, with one person writing: ‘Their behaviour is not ok. Well done for speaking out. Something needs to be done about this. Horrifying statistics of how many young girls online receive these awful messages from men. Hopefully you speaking out will encourage others to do the same. Take care’.
Another penned: ‘Well done for speaking out, Emily. No one should ever have to deal with what you’ve had to put up with. Stay strong lovely lady’.
‘So good that you’ve spoken out about this. You can certainly be proud of yourself for bringing this to people’s attention,’ someone else wrote.
Atack discusses how catcalling and street harassment can escalate into something “far more dangerous” in the documentary.
She said: ‘I think bringing things in like making catcalling a public health issue are important.
‘People can tut and roll their eyes when they hear things like that, but I can now understand the importance of that kind of thing.’
The I’m A Celebrity star who has 1.8 million followers on Instagram, previously talked to The Sun on Sunday in April and said she is subjected to ‘relentless and nasty’ rape threats online that have caused her to call the police and ‘doubt her entire existence at times’.
At the time Atack said she has had to move house four times in the wake of targeted harassment, telling the newspaper: ‘They knew where I lived, said what they were going to do to me, even my family. I contacted the cops.’
Emily Atack: Asking For It? airs on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer at 9pm on January 31.
Victim Support
Victim Support offers support to survivors of rape and sexual abuse. You can contact them on 0333 300 6389.
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