It's International Women's Day today. Celebrated annually on March 8, the day focuses on issues like gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women. On this International Women's Day, PeepingMoon spoke to Regena Cassandrra. In a major revelation, the actress recalled the horror of being flashed at a tender age.
While talking about facing discrimination in the workplace, Regena told us exclusively, "Let's not even talk about the industry. Let's talk about being a woman and dealing with men on a day-to-day basis. I, as a girl, have been flashed. My ass had been spanked by a random man. Such adverse situations give you a rude awakening but it is the truth. I must have been around 8 or 9 when I was flashed by a man and at that time, I didn't even know what a penis was. I was understanding what the world was going to be like. It does teach you and tell you that this is just the beginning and makes you stronger for sure. So, not just the industry but also your surroundings as well."
She added, "When it comes to the industry, it becomes more work-oriented. No matter where you work and what you do, women face workplace sexual harassment. I feel like it only hardens you up. You make your decisions and choices being unapologetic about it."
The actress remembered, "It's interesting because the day that this happened, I still remember it visually. I'm a tough kid because I had a very tough upbringing. My mother would tell me, "If a guy was to raise his hands and hit you, you don't even think twice about what you want to do." Whether I wanted to go and complain or hit him back was entirely my choice. Due to my upbringing, I was able to protect myself from a young age. I was the only kid but it did affect me. I still remember asking myself why I didn't cry when this had happened. I didn't shed a tear, I didn't feel like a victim. I didn't know all of this back then and didn't understand all of this. I never looked at myself as a victim, mentality. The incident drew me closer to understanding people's mindsets and which is why I even studied psychology. I wanted to know why people do this. What's the urge? What are these fetishes? I wouldn't say molested but I was touched inappropriately as a kid. It made me wonder if I have any relationship, would I be averse to sex? I thought how would I deal with understanding of sex and would my partner be able to understand where I came from? I was very open about talking about these things and no one knows who it is and when it happened. Since I was a kid, it didn't affect me in any way but it did bring about a lot of questions in my head."
