Janet Street-Porter has revealed she was sexually abused as a child, telling 'Loose Women' viewers of how she was touched inappropriately by a hairdresser and a dentist.
The panellist opened up about her traumatic experience during a discussion about how to talk to your children about child abuse, with co-hosts Ruth Langsford, Linda Robson and Jamelia.
Telling of two different incidents on Wednesday's (16 June) edition of the ITV daytime show, she said: "When I was about nine or 10 in Fulham, my mother used to take my sister and I to a hairdresser to have our hair cut, and this hairdresser touched me in a way that was completely inappropriate."
Explaining they were in a cubicle where "nobody could see", Janet continued: "He put his hands down the front of my dress, and I thought, 'this isn't right.'"
Of how her mother reacted, she continued: "I went home and told my mother and she said, 'Don't make this up.' She absolutely didn't believe me. She went mad at me! She completely told me off."
Janet experienced something similar at the hands of a dentist, going on to admit he mother still did not believe her.
"I said it about a dentist and I said, 'there's something not right'. And she went mad at me. Is that a generational thing? Can mums now talk to their daughters?" she asked.
Jamelia stated she believed it was "not a generational thing", using an example of how a family of a girl she knew swept her abuse under the carpet.
'Loose Women' airs weekdays at 12.30pm on ITV.
