Sex therapist "Dr Eve", whose real name is Marlene Wasserman, has for the first time spoken out about being raped 11 years ago, it was reported on Friday.

"I felt, for me, like it was the right time to go public with it," she told The Times.

Wasserman spoke about the rape at an Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) public hearing in Johannesburg on Thursday. The hearings were about TopTV's application for three porn channels.

She was there in support of the application, and said it would help adolescents understand their own sexuality.

Wasserman told the newspaper she began entertaining the idea of going public at the beginning of last month's "Stop Rape" campaign, but wanted to protect her family.

"I discussed it with them and decided that I would feel and know when the time was right and... where I wanted to do it," she said.

The report has details of when and where the rape took place.

Wasserman said after such a traumatic experience, she found that it was difficult to recover.

"No matter how many self-defence classes you take, no matter how much protection or barriers you put into your house, there's something that shatters inside a woman or man, and stays shattered forever, and you have to learn to live with that."

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