Stigma attached to sexual crime makes it impossible for the bravest women to speak out says Richa Chadha

Richa Chadha says stigma attached to sexual crime makes it impossible for the bravest women to speak out.

Richa's 'Love Sonia' released last week in the UK. To promote the film, she appeared on a show hosted by Victoria Derbyshire on Monday.   

Talking on #MeToo a global movement, she said: "It's upsetting that those women who have come out and spoken, many of them have received death threats, rape threats, for some their livelihood has been snatched away.

"Primarily, there's an issue of will and consent, which is  a very  tricky territory. We need to figure out to make this work, to create a supportive environment for women who speak out. The term for rape in Hindi is 'izzat  lootna '. Its literal translation is losing your dignity. So, there's so much stigma attached to any kind of sexual crime that sometimes, it's impossible to get the bravest women to speak out...because this then, becomes that one thing that defines them," she added.

Richa also took the chance to talk about the unrealistic standards of beauty for women in the industry and how it affects young women.

 "Today, it can be very confusing for young women... what you're supposed to do with your body. I believe that one should be healthy and exercise. Everybody should be allowed to be happy in their own skin without being called 'lazy' or 'unprofessional' or 'anorexic' or 'not womanly' enough. It's so harsh for women to keep up and adhere to these standards."

'Love Sonia' directed by Tabrez Noorani starred, Mrunal Thakur, Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chadha, Rajkummar Rao, Sai Tamhankar, Adil Hussain, Anupam Kher, Demi Moore, Mark Duplass, Freida Pinto  and  Riya Sisodiya.