Actress and activist Ashley Judd spoke out against violence against women in an explicit essay published on Thursday.

Judd was the victim of cyberbullying after tweeting about a controversial play during a college basketball game. In response, she called her bullies out for contributing to gender violence.

The 46-year-old tweeted that a basketball player was "playing dirty & can kiss my team's free throw making [expletive]," and received a storm of angry tweets in return. She was called names, and threatened with physical and sexual violence, even after deleting her original tweet and apologising for causing offense.

"The volume of hatred that exploded at me in response was staggering," Judd admitted.

The actress pointed out that her uncle, who is a chaplain, also criticised the basketball player's actions, but "being a male sports fan is his immunity from abuse."

The online abuse was indicative of a larger societal problem that treats women as ready victims, Judd said.

"Online harassers use the slightest excuse (or no excuse at all) to dismember our personhood," she explained. "My tweet was simply the convenient delivery system for a rage toward women that lurks perpetually."

Judd recounted being the victim of an attempted sexual assault, incest, and two rapes, and was introduced to "recovery" in 2006.

"I can go farther and say my 'story' is not 'my story,'" she said. "It is something a Higher Power (spirituality, for me, has been vital in this healing) uses to allow me the grace and privilege of helping others who are still hurting, and perhaps to offer a piece of education, awareness and action to our world."

In addition to retweeting some of the more derogatory tweets she received, Judd also promised to take legal action against the sexual harassers.

"Everyone needs to take personal responsibility for what they write, and not allow this misinterpretation and shaming culture on social media to persist," she told the "Today" show. "And by the way, I'm pressing charges."