40-year-old Jagmeet Singh, a Sikh-Canadian politician revealed that he was sexually abused during his childhood days in Windsor, Ontario.
The 40-year-old politician also revealed how he faced bullying and racism as he grew up.
The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau praised the courage of Mr. Jagmeet Singh for speaking about it.
Jagmeet is the first visible minority that leads a major federal party in Canada.
In his book, “Love and Courage” Mr. Singh says he was bullied by other kids who grew up in Windsor due to his “Patka” which is a Sikh Child’s Turban and long hair.
The concerned parents of Jagmeet decided to enroll him in Taekwondo Classes after they found out that he was being bullied.
Jagmeet added that the Instructor who taught him Taekwondo also offered him personal classes at his home. The instructor, who he calls Mr. N has passed away.
The 40-year-old politician did not go into detail about the abuse he went through.
In his book, he said, “That’s the thing about abuse – it can make the victim feel an overwhelming sense of shame, a shame so disabling that one suffers in silence.”
He added, “I told no one, and I told myself not to think about what had happened. In a way, I prevented myself from actually accepting the truth.”
PM Justin Trudeau praised Jagmeet for his “courage to speak up will fight against stigma, and help so many people know they are not alone”.
Earlier this year, Jagmeet Singh won a seat in the House of Commons in Canada, this was called as a significant boost for his leadership in the run-up to the federal election that is scheduled in October.
As of now, the NDP (New Democratic Party) is the third-place party in the country’s Parliament with having 41 seats in 338.
Mr. Jagmeet Singh was elected in 2017 to lead the federal party, he was a former criminal defense attorney and a provincial politician in Ontario.