Pamela Anderson reveals she was molested, raped and gang-raped in her youth.

Warning: This article deals with details of sexual assault and could be triggering for some readers.

Pamela Anderson has revealed harrowing details about sexual assaults during her youth while speaking at the Cannes Film Festival and launching an animal rights charity.

Anderson told a crowd of 200 that she was molested when she was only six years old, raped when she was 12 years old and then gang-raped while she was in high school.

The 46-year-old former star of Baywatch spoke about the ordeal during the launch of her charity, The Pamela Anderson Foundation.

According to The Daily Mail, the star said that “despite loving parents” she “did not have an easy childhood” – and then revealed that she had been molested when she was six by a female babysitter.

She then spoke about being raped when she was 12, saying, “I went to a friend’s boyfriend’s house and his older brother decided to teach me backgammon which led into a back massage, which led into rape. My first heterosexual experience.”

“He was 25 years old and I was 12.”

And then, only a few years later, she revealed to the audience how a high school boyfriend “decided it would be funny to gang-rape me with six friends”.

The Playboy cover model was deeply affected by these assaults and said that she felt like she “wanted off this earth”.

Anderson then explained how these early traumatic experiences have led to her animal activism.

“This meant I had a hard time trusting humans,” Anderson continued. “My parents tried to keep me safe, but to me the world was not a safe place. My dad was an alcoholic, my mum worked two jobs, my mum was always crying, dad didn’t always come home.”

But her feeling for animals helped give her meaning, she told the audience.

“It came to me naturally. The trees spoke to me. My loyalty was with the animal kingdom and I vowed to protect them and only them. I prayed to the whales with my feet in the ocean, my only real friends until I had children.”

The Pamela Anderson Foundation, which she was there to launch, aims to “[support] organisations and individuals on the front lines protecting the environment, animal rights and human rights”.

It must have taken incredible courage for Pamela Anderson to speak out about her past – but every time a public figure speaks out about rape, others who are struggling may feel a little less alone.

Please note if this post or any of the comments bring up any issues for you, or if you need to speak to someone, please call 1800-RESPECT or the NSW Rape Crisis Centre on 1800 424 017. It does not matter where you live in Australia, they will take your call and, if need be, refer you to a service closer to home.