The Sussex police and crime commissioner Katy Bourne said that she was “inappropriately touched” by a man who sat next to her at a cinema when she was younger.
She also said: “The first time I was flashed by a man, I was 13, on a school trip.”
Mrs Bourne shared the revelations during a BBC South East Instagram live discussion one year on from the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard by a Metropolitan Police officer in London.
Reflecting on what had happened to her, she said: “I thought, ‘if that happens to me, then it happens to a lot of women.’”
Mrs Bourne was asked whether she felt safe in Sussex and said: “Honestly, not in certain areas, at certain times.
“I just think, ‘what is wrong with our society?’
“We all want to make that difference and we all want to be that change so I will keep battling for this and I will keep on and on, and I know others will too.”
Mrs Bourne also said that more resources would go towards tackling violence against women and girls.
She said: “Normally, I will spend in a year about £1.5 million on services that tackle violence against women and girls in Sussex.
“Last year, because of all the funding that was brought in, just on the domestic abuse services I was able to spend over £3 million.”
As police and crime commissioner, Mrs Bourne set up the Safe Space Sussex website and plans to make more information available on an app.
The website was designed to share sources of help and support for victims of domestic abuse, stalking and any other crime.
It has been described as “an online directory of local victim and witness specialist support services as well as information about different types of crime and what happens at each stage of the criminal justice system”.
