New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito revealed Wednesday on Twitter that she was sexually abused as a child.
Mark-Viverito said in the tweet sent late Wednesday that Donald "Trump's misogyny & sexual violence has re-opened wounds I tried to heal," an apparent reference to the leaked audio where the Republican presidential nominee talked about kissing women and grabbing their genitals.
The city council speaker, who has endorsed Clinton and campaigned for the former New York senator, later revealed Thursday that she was molested by one man at age 5 and another man at age 8. She said that the leaked audio prompted her to come forward about the abuse for the first time.
"It's a struggle you go through and it never ends," she said Thursday.
Dozens of other Twitter users applauded Mark-Viverito for sharing her story on Twitter. The speaker's tweet was favorited more than 1,000 times and retweeted nearly 500 times.
Mark-Viverito's revelation comes as women come forward with allegations that Trump harassed, groped or kissed them without their consent in the wake of the leaked tape. Several other women have also come forward with tales of abuse at the hands of other men following the release of the tape.
Trump has denied the allegations of sexual abuse and will release it at the "appropriate time." He called the claims a "coordinated, vicious attack" from the media and Clinton's campaign. He's also dismissed the 2005 audio as "locker room talk."
