Jane Fonda is the latest star to open up about her struggles with sexual abuse as a woman growing up in the 50s and 60s, confessing that she has suffered more than once at the hands of the 'patriarchy'. She revealed her experiences as part of her stance on International Women's Day.

Jane FondaJane Fonda reveals that she was sexually abused as a child

The 79-year-old actress revealed that not only has she been a victim of rape, but also of child abuse and sexual harassment in the workplace; the later being when she was dismissed from her job because she refused to have sexual relations with her boss. 

'To show you the extent to which a patriarchy takes a toll on females, I've been raped, I've been sexually abused as a child and I've been fired because I wouldn't sleep with my boss and I always thought it was my fault - that I didn't do or say the right thing', she told fellow actress Brie Larson for Net-a-Porter's The Edit magazine

Jane, who has always been a fierce feminist, has praised the activism of recent women's campaigns in challenging rapists and defining what consent really means. 'I know young girls who've been raped and didn't even know it was rape', she said. 'They think, 'It must have been because I said no the wrong way'. One of the great things the women's movement has done is to make us realise that (rape and abuse is) not our fault. We were violated and it's not right.'

More: Jane Fonda opens up about her feminist journey

In 2014, Jane revealed that she suspected her own mother, Frances, was a victim of sexual abuse from the age of 8, something that she believes contributed to her committing suicide on her 42nd birthday, when Jane was just 12-years-old. 'The minute that I read that, everything fell into place', Jane told the audience at a rape victims' charity event. 'I knew [the reason for] the promiscuity, the endless plastic surgery, the guilt, the inability to love or be intimate, and I was able to forgive her and forgive myself.'