Christina Aguilera has opened up about how domestic violence has impacted her personally, and why it's now important for her to support survivors.
The Grammy-award winning singer offered her story on social media after revealing that a Las Vegas domestic violence shelter, the Shade Tree, awarded her its Deacon Bonnie Polley Community Hero Award at its annual Mask Off gala last week. In the caption of her post, she wrote on what accepting the award meant to her.
"I was honored to receive an award from @shadetreevegas, a domestic violence shelter that I donate to," she wrote. "While I tried so hard not to cry, I ended up balling the whole way through my speech because the statistics of domestic violence in the US are truly horrifying & sad and it’s so important to spread more awareness."
(MORE: Christina Aguilera on new Vegas residency: 'Perfect time for me')She included videos of her speech accepting the award, in which she spoke about how domestic violence has affected her, in her post.
“It’s just disgusting and it happens far too much to people...and it is very dear to my heart, because I did grow up in [violence] and am a survivor of it, as I’m sure many of you are, and I’m affected by it," she said.
The singer further described what she went through earlier in life in the caption of her post.
"I remember often having to up and escape in the middle of the night with my mom & little sister, having just the clothes on our backs, to drive cross country for shelter at my grandma’s house," she wrote.
"Without that, I would have had to turn to a place like @shadetreevegas for shelter," she continued. "I have so much respect and adoration for those who give their time and support to hear these victims’ stories and help them regain strength, self empowerment and provide resources for a better independent future."
(MORE: Christina Aguilera's Las Vegas residency to raise money for domestic violence victims)She added that many victims "aren’t so fortunate to get out….which is why it’s so important to work together to put a stop to these horrific statistics," and that domestic violence is a global issue.
She also included statistics about how prevalent domestic violence is in the United States and a call to action.
"We need to use our voices to speak up, reach out and help one another break these deep rooted cycles and empower each other to end these patterns," she wrote.
The singer previously announced that a portion of ticket sales from her first ever Las Vegas residency, called "Christina Aguilera: The Xperience," would be donated to The Shade Tree.
