‘A hand up a skirt’: Keira Knightley on the prevalence of sexual assault

"It’s not just actresses. It’s teachers; it’s lawyers," so said Keira Knightley when discussing the pervasive nature of sexual violence and harassment during a recent interview with Variety.

While discussing the fall-out from the Weinstein scandal, the British actress, who shares one child with husband James Righton, was eager to highlight the fact that harassment of this nature is not unique to certain circles.

Keira, who worked with Weinstein on The Imitation Game and Begin Again, confirmed that her relationship with the director was never anything but professional, insisting: "He certainly never asked me for massages or anything like that."

However, the 32-year-old wasn't fortunate enough to escape the unwanted attention of other men over the course of her life, and stresses that it's something most women will have experienced, asserting: "I think everyone has battled their fair share of monsters."

"I’m fortunate that I’ve never been sexually abused professionally or harassed on a film set, but in my personal life, when I’ve been in bars, I can count four times when I’ve been what I’d say was assaulted in a minor way," she revealed.

Eager to clarify her remark, Keira added: "I’m not talking about rape, but I’m talking about the people who had been grabbed in pubs or their breasts had been fondled by somebody they didn’t know or they’d had someone shove a hand up their skirt."

The #MeToo and #TimesUp campaign have been making strides in their attempts to give a voice to the marginalised and those who have been the victim of sexual harassment or assault.