Jonalyn Viray, who established herself as a singer under the nickname Jona (pic), revealed that she suffered from sexual abuse at the hands of her own father when she was only 10 years old.
The Filipino artiste opened up about being molested by her father in a tell-all interview with Toni Gonzaga on Sunday, Oct 26, crediting her experience as to why she is being referred to as the “Fearless Diva” by her peers.
"They call me the Fearless Diva, who is fearless in her performances onstage. I realised the purpose of why they called me that. Now, I feel fearless and strong enough to share my journey from the past. For a long time, I hid that I was a victim of molestation when I was 10 years old," she said.
According to the singer, the attempts of sexual abuse began when she was 10, when her mother ended up leaving the family due to the constant fights she had with her father at the time.
"When I was only 10 years old, I was a victim of molestation by my father. It happened during the daytime when he would ask me to enter his room, until the horrific things happened. And that time, I was frozen because I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know if I should scream or if it was right. But it happened. Even after those events, all those years, I was with my father," she said.
The attempts at molestation ended “a year” after. However, Jona admitted that no one knew about the sexual abuse she went through, even her own siblings and relatives. She didn’t realise that she carried the pain while growing up, admitting that she tends to “seek validation to be loved and security.”
"No one knew about it. I didn’t tell my siblings because I didn’t know how they would receive it. I didn’t inform my close relatives as well. I really didn’t share it with anyone," she added.
Describing herself as a “late bloomer,” Jona admitted that her experience also affected her outlook on love and why she was single for a long time, noting that she is “scared” to trust people since then.
"I was such a late bloomer. Every ugly thing that happened in the past, I tend to forget. If I have a computer-like memory, I would delete it because it’s painful to remember. This is why, when I would have moments of deeper realisation, I would start to be informed of things that women shouldn’t experience. That’s when I realised that I had been through so much as a child. It was unimaginable."
Jona started her entertainment career as a contestant in the first season of Pinoy Pop Superstar in 2004, which she eventually won. After working with GMA, she eventually transferred to ABS-CBN in 2016. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network
