Former WWE Divas Champion Eve Torres took to social media to reveal that she was sexually assaulted over a decade ago. Torres shared the tragedy as a part of Sexual Assault Awareness month.
She wrote, "It took me 10 years to admit to myself, and then to others, that I was a survivor of rape. It happened on a night with mutual friends, alcohol, and while I was out of town in an environment that was unfamiliar to me. At the time of the assault, I used all of these circumstances to tell myself that I had participated in the act, when in reality, my verbal and physical resistance indicated otherwise. It is so common for women to believe that because we didn't physically 'fight' him off, we invited it, and it wasn't rape. This is not true. When we are faced with a situation that seems impossible to get out of, or would require a battle we don't believe we are equipped for, we often feel we have no other choice than to continue without resistance. This form of cooperation can even be considered a survival tool in some circumstances, but it does not mean that we allowed it, wanted it, asked for it, invited it, or chose it. If we did not offer our consent, it is sexual assault, and in many cases, including mine, it was rape. It took me embarking on my journey in Women Empowered to garner the confidence to acknowledge the reality of what happened, and then share my story with others. In order to authentically ask others to advocate for themselves, I had to be an advocate for myself. Self-defense doesn't end if/when an assault takes place. Self-defense is the mindset that we deserve to be protected, supported, and safe, and that may mean seeking help after an incident occurs. One might think that acknowledging a sexual assault would make someone feel powerless. In reality, it wasn't until I was able to identify it as such that I was finally able to take back the control that I felt was stolen from me that night. I know that if I were put in the exact same situation, all these years later, I now have an arsenal of physical and psychological tools to defend against him. As the shame was stripped away, my power emerged."
Torres worked in WWE from 2007 to 2013 before becoming an Ambassador for the brand. She recently appeared on the pre-show panel for WWE's first ever women's pay-per-view Evolution in October 2018.