Zara has explored rape culture in her new BBC Three documentary (Image: Rex, @zaramcdermott, Instagram)
Zara McDermott hopes that young women are not deterred from sharing sexy photos on social media, as they “have nothing to do with anyone asking to be sexually assaulted.”
The former Love Island star has explored rape culture for a new BBC Three documentary, Zara McDermott: Uncovering Rape Culture, following her first hit revenge porn movie in 2019.
In the film, 24-year-old Zara discovers a ‘rape culture’ sweeping through Britain’s schools and asks what needs to change, recalling for the first time her own assault and talking to young women and girls about her experience of the culture of rape and these toxins. behaviors in both state and private schools.
One of the narratives that Zara has a particular problem with is the suggestion that women who post revealing photos on social media platforms like Instagram mean they are “asking for it.”
Talking with Metro.co.uk , the reality star said: ‘People sometimes say that about me:’ Your Instagram is full of pictures of you on vacation or pictures of you in a tight dress and in nice clothes that don’t always cover you in every way. ‘ .
‘But I always refute that and say well, just because a woman dresses a certain way doesn’t mean she’s asking to be assaulted.
“I think it is a very clear message to convey. Women can be empowered and men can empower themselves any way they want and go to any show they want, but that doesn’t mean someone deserves to be assaulted. ‘
She added: ‘If I want to dress in a nice dress when I’m at the beach or in a nice bikini, I can.
“They are so far apart in my mind that there is no correlation in that.”
Raising awareness of rape culture is especially close to Zara’s heart after her own attempted sexual assault four years ago, before she found fame on Love Island. However, she admits that the revenge porn incident, where a former leaked explicit photos of her during her time at the villa, was more emotionally shocking to her than the attempted sexual assault.
She explained: “I know that many other women and men have experienced sexual assaults on a much larger scale with much more damning consequences and much more harm than what happened to me.
‘What I went through with my revenge porn experience, especially after Love Island, completely clouded what happened because, for me, it didn’t affect me that much emotionally because of it, so no’ I don’t want to sit here and say this was what worse that happened to me because I got over it. ‘
She added: “I was so lucky… it also made me more aware of walking alone and being afraid to walk alone in the dark.
“My boyfriend [Sam Thompson, estrella de Made In Chelsea] He has to be by my side when I walk alone. In fact, I got really mad the other day and he said, “My God, Zara don’t be silly, I’ll accompany you, don’t be mad.” It’s things like that that stay with me, I guess. ‘
One of the most difficult parts of the rape culture documentary was when Zara was reunited with the family of 12-year-old schoolgirl Semina Halliwell, who took her own life following an alleged rape.
Recalling the experience, Zara said: ‘That will stay with me for the rest of my life.
‘She was a 12-year-old girl who took her own life just a few months ago after an alleged rape that occurred
Zara has spoken to young women and girls in schools about the culture of rape (Image: PA)
“I spoke with her friends and her mother, her mother, what a brave woman, all I can do is praise her bravery and honesty about the struggles her 12 year old daughter was going through at the time.
“For me, that was an important part of the movie because it shows that there is a huge consequence of this rape culture, it’s not that nobody is overly sensitive.”
Zara has managed to transform her career since Love Island; After previously working as a government advisor, she rediscovered her passion for helping young people through hard-hitting documentaries. Her first revenge porn movie even earned Zara a National Television Award nomination and has been touted as the next Stacey Dooley.
“I’m in a really privileged position where I can really communicate with my audience… this connection that I have with my viewers is amazing,” he said.
‘That’s the beauty of having an audience that is there and ready to listen and see my movies, since I can hear what they want and they go and [hacen esa película]’.
Zara McDermott: Uncovering Rape Culture is available to watch on BBC iPlayer now.
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