--- title: Teri Hatcher Recalls Her Own Sexual Abuse While Speaking at the UN description: Hatcher spoke about her abusive uncle at a United Nations event canonical: https://time.com/3610266/teri-hatcher-sexual-abuse-united-nations-violence-against-women/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-29T15:12:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:56:23.018Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Teri Hatcher Recalls Her Own Sexual Abuse While Speaking at the UN og:description: Hatcher spoke about her abusive uncle at a United Nations event og:url: https://time.com/3610266/teri-hatcher-sexual-abuse-united-nations-violence-against-women/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a8f7058b1dfb961/69876b803c16390a7f45048d/459571866.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: United Nations Official Commemoration Of The International Day For The Elimination Of Violence Against Women og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Teri Hatcher Recalls Her Own Sexual Abuse While Speaking at the UN twitter:description: Hatcher spoke about her abusive uncle at a United Nations event twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a8f7058b1dfb961/69876b803c16390a7f45048d/459571866.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Teri Hatcher Recalls Childhood Sexual Abuse in UN Speech by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Nov 29, 2014 3:12 PM CUT  Actress Teri Hatcher wipes away tears after her speech during the United Nations Official Commemoration of the International Day For The Elimination Of Violence Against Women on Nov. 25, 2014 in New York. Actress Teri Hatcher wipes away tears after her speech during the United Nations Official Commemoration of the International Day For The Elimination Of Violence Against Women on Nov. 25, 2014 in New York.Jemal Countess—Getty Images by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Nov 29, 2014 3:12 PM CUT [Teri Hatcher spoke about her childhood experience with abuse](https://celebrity.yahoo.com/blogs/celeb-news/teri-hatcher-recounts-her-own-sexual-abuse-193118696.html;%5Fylt=A0SO8wHeYXlUIV4A7.dXNyoA "undefined") at a United Nations event commemorating the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on Tuesday, recounting being molested by her uncle at the age of seven. “I was convinced it was my fault and I blamed myself for what had happened, so I didn’t tell anyone and I was silent,” the 49-year-old actress said, Yahoo News [reports](https://celebrity.yahoo.com/blogs/celeb-news/teri-hatcher-recounts-her-own-sexual-abuse-193118696.html;%5Fylt=A0SO8wHeYXlUIV4A7.dXNyoA "undefined"). “I did, however, unsurprisingly, start to act out and my mother decided to keep me away from my uncle. I didn’t see him anymore, but no one in my family ever asked exactly what happened. We remained silent.” Hatcher says the abuse stopped when she was around 8 or 9, but her uncle Richard Hayes Stone abused other young girls, including one victim who later committed suicide. When Hatcher learned that others were abused, she decided to approach a district attorney. Stone was eventually sentenced to 14 years in prison. The _Desperate Housewives_ star first spoke publicly of her abuse in 2006\. Hatcher has been active in seeking to prevent sexual abuse, and on Monday helped light the Empire State Building orange in honor of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. \[[_Yahoo_](https://celebrity.yahoo.com/blogs/celeb-news/teri-hatcher-recounts-her-own-sexual-abuse-193118696.html;%5Fylt=A0SO8wHeYXlUIV4A7.dXNyoA "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3610266/teri-hatcher-sexual-abuse-united-nations-violence-against-women/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3610266/teri-hatcher-sexual-abuse-united-nations-violence-against-women/"},"headline":"Teri Hatcher Recalls Childhood Sexual Abuse in UN Speech","datePublished":"2014-11-29T15:12:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:56:23.018Z","description":"Hatcher spoke about her abusive uncle at a United Nations event","url":"https://time.com/3610266/teri-hatcher-sexual-abuse-united-nations-violence-against-women/","keywords":["celebrities","Living","Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a8f7058b1dfb961/69876b803c16390a7f45048d/459571866.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a8f7058b1dfb961/69876b803c16390a7f45048d/459571866.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"United Nations Official Commemoration Of The International Day For The Elimination Of Violence Against Women","caption":"United Nations Official Commemoration Of The International Day For The Elimination Of Violence Against Women","creditText":"Jemal Countess—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3610266/teri-hatcher-sexual-abuse-united-nations-violence-against-women/","name":"Teri Hatcher Recalls Childhood Sexual Abuse in UN Speech"}}]}] ```