15 celebrities who got political in 2018

11. Evan Rachel Wood

For some public figures, their political and social stances are pretty well removed from their lived experiences. That’s not inherently a bad thing. Sometimes, after all, it’s morally good to care for people and causes that don’t directly affect you.

Then again, there are some things that are so personal and even traumatic that it can’t help but influence not only your everyday life, but how you speak about it on a national level. That was the case for Evan Rachel Wood when she appeared before the House Judiciary Subcommittee in February.

Wood was testifying in support of the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights Acts for all states. The federal law, which was enacted in 2016, was a landmark ruling that provided expanded rights for survivors of sexual assault. This federal ruling was intended as a model for all states to take on in their own state-level governments.

However, not all of the states in the union have since enacted similar rulings. Rights available on the federal level, like long-term preservation of evidence and rape kits provided free of charge (unbelievably, some rape victims have been sent a bill for their own rape kit), are not necessarily available to all. Those seeking help on the state level may be left without support.

Wood, an actor, model, and musician who has been active since the 1990s, testified to the subcommittee about her own harrowing experiences with sexual assault and abuse. Her five minute statement detailed not only her time with an abusive partner, but the subsequent years of related mental health issues. These include post-traumatic stress disorder, addiction, depression, and agoraphobia, or fear of situations that can cause panic or helplessness.