Duffy Details Alleged Rape and Kidnapping in Moving Essay

Duffy
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The 35-year-old 'Mercy' singer got candid in an essay on her site about her past trauma.

Duffy is opening up about the traumatic experiences in her life that led to her disappearing for 10 years. The 35-year-old singer, whose full name is Aimee Anne Duffy, penned a lengthy essay titled "The 5th House" on her website, detailing her alleged rape and abduction, which she said led her to consider changing her name and starting a new life. 

"I have been very warned by some I know not to tell you what I am about to tell you," she wrote. "Some alluded that I would pretty much be finished in whatever chances I have to make music publicly again, some have said I would be scorned by the public, another said I would be called selfish that the rapist is still at large."

The "Mercy" singer then goes on to write that she was allegedly drugged on her birthday at a restaurant before being "drugged for four weeks and travelled to a foreign country." 

"I was put into a hotel room and the perpetrator returned and raped me. I remember the pain and trying to stay conscious in the room after it happened," she continued. "I was stuck with him for another day, he didn’t look at me, I was to walk behind him, I was somewhat conscious and withdrawn. I could have been disposed of by him."

She added that she was too afraid to run away because she didn't have any money and was afraid her rapist would file a missing person's report. 

Duffy went on to explain that the perpetrator drugged her in her home for four weeks, noting that she was unsure whether she was raped there. 

"I knew my life was in immediate danger, he made veiled confessions of wanting to kill me," she added. "Thereafter, it didn’t feel safe to go to the police. I felt if anything went wrong, I would be dead, and he would have killed me. I could not risk being mishandled or it being all over the news during my danger. I really had to follow what instincts I had."

The British singer did not offer identifying features or names in regard to her rapist, saying that "should be only handled by the police, and that is between me and them."

She added that the ordeal has caused her to struggle in her romantic life and in her professional career as a musician. 

"I owe it to myself to release a body of work someday, though I very much doubt I will ever be the person people once knew," she wrote. "My music will be measured on the merit of its quality and this story will be something I experienced and not something that describes me."

She added that since her original post about her rape in February, she has received a lot of support from people who have had shared experiences. 

"I also received messages, from others whom were sexually abused and raped, of all ages and races and places and genders," she noted. "I want you to know I saw and read them. I read every word, and your story lives on in me."

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