Abigail Breslin explains why she did not report her rape

The former child star, who found fame in the 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine, wrote that she was responding to a commenter who had remarked "reported rapes are the only rapes that count" when she shared an infographic outlining sexual assault statistics to her Instagram account on the weekend.

"I did not report my rape," Breslin, 21, began in an Instagram post published on Monday. "I didn't report it because of many reasons."

"First off, I was in complete shock and total denial. I didn't want to view myself as a 'victim' so I suppressed it and pretended it never happened.

As she was in a relationship with the perpetrator, the actress said she feared no one would believe her if she reported the rape.

"I also feared that if my case didn't lead anywhere, he would still find out and hurt me even more".

Breslin said the third reason she did not go to the police was knowing "how hurt [her] family and friends would be" by the news.

The Australian Institute of Criminology estimates that over 70 per cent of rapes are unreported. In the US figures are virtually the same, with the US National Crime Victimisation Survey suggesting 69 per cent of rapes are never reported to police.

Writing that she was diagnosed with PTSD after the incident, Breslin said she still experiences flashbacks and nightmares.

"I still jump when somebody touches me unexpectedly, even if it's my best friend tapping me on the shoulder," she said.

She concluded by saying arguments that unreported rapes are lesser in some way is "unfair, untrue and unhelpful".

"It's like [saying] you got a black eye from being punched in the face, but because you didn't call the police, you didn't really get a black eye."

Breslin made headlines on April 11 when she revealed she had been raped by a previous partner. The actress made the revelation in an Instagram post in honour of Sexual Assault Awareness Month in the US.

She shared a photo that read, "You are not obligated to have sex with someone that you're in a relationship with. Dating is not consent. Marriage is not consent."

Breslin captioned the image, simply: "I knew my assailant."

The post attracted support from her fans, as well as from some of the Scream Queens actress' celebrity friends.