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'I WAS TRYING TO PROVE I WAS WANTED'
KAREN Danczuk has revealed she used selfies to prove she was "wanted" after suffering horrific sex abuse at the hands of her brother.
The selfie queen said she had been seeking approval by sharing the revealing photographs, desperate to show that she was still a woman after being robbed of her childhood by her brother's abuse.
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Speaking to after joining forces with abuse victims' charity NAPAC, Karen said she had turned to social media to deal with what happened to her.
She said: "Now when I look back I think, ‘My word, it’s awful’.
"I think I was just trying to prove that I was wanted, that people liked me - validation that I was normal despite what I (had been) going through."
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She added: "I think it was just approval - this has happened to me but I can still be a woman, I can still feel good about myself."
When asked about whether there was a connection between her selfies and the abuse she suffered, she added: "I would say 100 per cent and at the time, say two years ago, if you'd asked me if I would sit here I'd think you were crazy."
The former Labour councillor's older brother Michael Burke was jailed in 2016 after being found guilty of eight rapes against three different victims.
The security guard collapsed in court after finding out the had been convicted of the sex attacks that occurred over an 18-year period between 1992 and 2010.
Karen, who was married to Labour MP Simon Danczuk for three years, has since spoken out about the abuse she faced at the hands of her brother, revealing this morning that she believed it was important to support victims of sex abuse.
She said that she was finally able to come to terms with what happened in her past and that she was able to finally start the healing process.
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Speaking to hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid, she said she had felt it was important to waive her right to anonymity.
She added: "Sibling abuse is quite common. It’s not really spoken about. It does happen and it is out there and it’s not right.
"I think definitely, there needs to be more money put in. Some people say it was so many years ago, don't bring up the past, don't think about it.
"But you just don't cope mentally. Some people might turn to drugs and alcohol, I turned to social media."
Speaking out on the ITV program, she said that to give victims support sooner rather than later would help.
But now a mother herself, she said that she felt "numb" towards her brother and did not feel any anger towards him.
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Karen, who is the youngest of five children, has previously spoken out about sex abuse, breaking down in an appearance on Loose Women as part of their "It's Never Too Late to Talk" campaign.
The mother was previously grilled over whether her selfies attracted the wrong type of men during an appearance on This Morning.
She previously said that her photographs gave her "strength" and "confidence".