There are many misconceptions about sexual assault – one of the most common of which is the idea that the perpetrator is usually a stranger. While this can be the case, according to Rape Crisis England and Wales, approximately 90% of sexual assaults are committed by someone known to the victim, such as in the case of intimate partner sexual violence or acquaintance rape.

Perpetrators of the latter might be a date, a classmate, a neighbour, a friend’s significant other. The list is endless and no matter the relationship to the attacker or previous sexual history, sexual assault is sexual assault.

Now, Amy Schumer has made that point loud and clear by talking of her own experience of assault by someone she knew.

Sitting down for an interview with Oprah Winfrey on her show Super Soul Conversations, Schumer, said: “When we hear about rape when we’re children, and we’re being warned about it, it’s about a guy popping out from a bush… and some villain. They don’t say it’s probably gonna be a guy you know really well.”

The actress continued: “It could be your husband. It could be your friend. And so you think, when that happens you, you say, ‘OK, this isn’t someone I want to see rotting in a jail cell, but what he did to me was wrong, and I didn’t consent.’ And for me, I lost my virginity while I was asleep. And that’s not OK.”

Going on to address her sexual assault in more detail, Schumer confirmed that her assailant was her then-boyfriend — and that she felt it was her duty to comfort and reassure him after he realised what he had done.

“The first thing he said was, ‘I thought you knew,’” she recalled. “I didn’t say anything yet, and he says, ‘I thought you knew.’

“I loved him, and I had to comfort him. I also felt really angry… it’s like a rage that has stayed with me. I don’t think you lose that. You know, as women we’re really trained not to get angry because that makes people dismiss you right away. There’s sort of no place for that anger. But I felt I wanted to comfort him because he felt so bad and he was so worried. And I just tried to push my anger down.”

Amy Schumer combats myths of sexual assault as she opens up about her teenage rapist