Jada Pinkett Smith Asks Niece Who Was Given Date-Rape Drug To Counsel Daughter Willow

Jada Pinkett Smith is raising awareness about sexual assault after both the very public #JusticeforJada campaign and her own niece's harrowing ordeal.

Smith participated in the #JusticeforJada advocacy earlier this month, when a story was made public about a 16-year-old Texan girl named Jada [her namesake], who was raped and further humiliated when photos showing her naked and unconscious went viral on social media.

"This could be you, me, or any woman or girl that we know," Smith wrote on Facebook at the time. "What do we plan to do about this ugly epidemic? #justiceforjada."

Now, Smith tells Us Weekly the issue hits far closer to home than she initially let on.

"If you saw what I put on Facebook, you also saw that this could happen to any woman that we know and the unfortunate part is that my niece was given a date-rape drug that weekend. Thank god—she's 20—so thank god that nothing happened, because she was with some responsible guys that took care of her, and with three of her friends. She said, 'oh my god I can't feel my…' she was losing consciousness. Thank god the people she was with put her in a room, closed the door, and she didn't come to for three and a half hours."

Pinkett Smith and husband of 17 years Will Smith share two children, son Jaden, 16, and daughter Willow, 13. She explains that she didn't keep the unfortunate incident as a secret from Willow, but instead sat her down to tell her everything.

"I'm not a conventional parent, which I take a lot of pride in. The first thing I had my niece do was sit down with my daughter and a couple of her friends and tell her about that experience. I don't just sit with Willow and go, 'hey, this is what Mommy thinks.' Let me just bring in a little reality to validate what Mommy's been talking to you about."

"What I do with Willow is I give her the opportunity to be empowered by having herself first. Because when you allow a person to be an individual and you allow a person to have power within and have confidence on who they are, you'll never have to look into the eyes of a man and question whether it's a yes or a no. She's gonna be very clear: No. She's gonna be very clear: yes. And she's gonna be in a position to be able to determine how to protect herself. Know when you're in danger. Should you be a girl that goes into a room with four men drinking. Should you? Even if you think you know them? Is this about wanting to be the cool girl or is this about wanting to set a standard for yourself?"

Pinkett Smith did not put the onus entirely on the women to protect themselves, however, adding, "There is an epidemic going on out here in regards to the treatment of women."