Italian star Monica Bellucci thinks it is important now for women to come forward about harassment and assault as they have long been told to stay silent. The actor said those criticising women, who have come forward against Harvey Weinstein, for not speaking up earlier should understand that it takes courage to open up like that. "I can say I am so happy that I have two kids, two girls, and they are born in this period of time. It's important that women now come out and have the courage to talk and to say things that surpass the fear, because our fear is something that is in our DNA," Bellucci said. "People are asking, 'why didn't these women come out before? Why didn't they say something right away?' When a bird is in a cage for a long time, even when you open the cage, it doesn't go out. And so to come out from that is something that has to change inside. It takes so much time to come out and have the courage to talk." Bellucci, who started working in her teens as a model and actor, said she also experienced harassment. The actor believes every woman faces harassment in some form or the other. "Of course. I don't think there is one woman in the world who hasn't experienced this to some degree. So I think when you are a woman, you know from a very young age how to deal with those attitudes. In some cases, you think that it is almost normal because it happens so often. But it's not normal. What we have to teach our children is that it's not normal."