Rihanna Speaks of Her Recovery after Her Ex-Boyfriend's Attack

Rihanna is speaking out about her rhealing process a month after Chris Brown's assault in December issue of Glamour magazine.

Photo: Rihanna Speaks of Her Recovery after Her Ex-Boyfriend's Attack

"My story was broadcast all over the world for people to see," she says. "They have followed every step of my recovery. "The positive thing that has come out of my situation is that people can learn from that. I want to give as much insight as I can to young women, because I feel like I represent a voice that really isn't heard. Now I can help speak for those women."

Named Glamour's 2009 Woman of the Year, Rihanna, 21, will be honored in a special ceremony at New York's Carnegie Hall on Nov. 9. In addition to opening up about her difficult year, the singer – and fashionista – will also appear in a pictorial spread, wearing clothing by Balmain, Gucci and Jason Wu, People Magazine reports.

It was also reported, Rihanna has been no stranger to the spotlight — even before her February attack at the hands of then-boyfriend Chris Brown.

But the singer said the level of media attention she received in the wake of the attack was something she never saw coming.

“It has taught me so much. I felt like I went to sleep as Rihanna and woke up as Britney Spears,” she said in a candid interview in the December issue of Glamour magazine. “That was the level of media chaos that happened the next day. It was like, what, there are helicopters circling my house? There are 100 people in my cul-de-sac? What do you mean, I can’t go back home?” msnbc.com reports.

The singer called the leak of the photo taken after the assault humiliating and said she felt "completely taken advantage of ... I felt like people were making it into a fun topic on the Internet, and it's my life. I was disappointed, especially when I found out the photo was [supposedly leaked by] two women. ... That is not a photo you would show to anybody."

The experience has changed her, she said, making her feel stronger, wiser and more aware. "You don't realize how much your decisions affect people you don't even know, like fans," she told the magazine. And, if she could send a message to the millions of young women who look up to her, especially ones who might be in similar situations, Rihanna said it would be this: "Domestic violence is a big secret. No kid goes around and lets people know their parents fight. Teenage girls can't tell their parents that their boyfriend beat them up. You don't dare let your neighbor know that you fight. It's one of the things we [women] will hide, because it's embarrassing. My story was broadcast all over the world for people to see, and they have followed every step of my recovery." MTV.com reports.