With her ongoing custody battle with Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie said she can’t say too much about the trauma she alleges that she and her six children suffered at the hands of the actor, but she said it left her fearful for the safety of her entire family.

In a new interview to be published in The Guardian’s Weekend magazine, Jolie said her experiences in her decade-long relationship and 2-year marriage to Pitt made her realize the importance of children’s rights, which is why she co-authored a new book for children, “Know Your Rights and Claim Them: A Guide for Youth.”

Nodding to a reporter, Jolie confirmed that she was alluding to the domestic violence allegations she made against Pitt when she said she became concerned that her children’s rights were not being honored.

While the actor and UN special envoy said she “can’t speak about” her legal situation, she responded to a question about whether she feared for the safety of her children. She said, “Yes, for my family. My whole family.”

Pitt declined to be interviewed for this story, The Guardian said. Meanwhile, it seems that the legal situation has meant that both Jolie and Pitt have left it to lawyers, court filings and leaks to the media to speak for them about why they broke up and the extent Pitt’s admitted alcohol abuse and accusations of domestic violence played in the split.

Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in September 2016, but the one-time Hollywood super couple remain locked in a contentious and costly legal fight over custody of their five minor children, ages 13 to 17.

The battle has reached the higher courts, with Pitt recently seeking a review by the California Supreme Court after an appellate court in July ruled that John Ouderkirk, the private judge who had been handling the couple’s divorce and custody settlement, should be disqualified because of perceived bias in favor of Pitt. That appellate court’s ruling effectively voided Ouderkirk’s previous ruling that granted Pitt more time with the five children.

Family law experts have generally questioned whether the protracted divorce fight is in the children’s best interests. They also note that the children are all now teenagers, who are expected to have greater control than young children over which parent they live with and how they spend their time, whether it’s with peers or in activities.

Jolie pushed to have Ouderkirk removed from the case after he granted Pitt 50/50 custody. She had also pushed Ouderkirk to allow her to present evidence of domestic violence and to allow their children to testify.

Legal experts interviewed by this news organization said it’s generally “traumatic” for children of all ages to be called into court and asked to testify. They said Ouderkirk likely based his custody ruling on testimony from therapists who interviewed the children and others involved in their day-to-day lives.

The “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” actor admitted in interviews that he had alcohol and anger management problems that he has since addressed in recovery. He has always denied being physically abusive to them, with his attorneys blaming Jolie for dragging the case out.

The FBI and child welfare officials also cleared Pitt of wrongdoing over a well-publicized confrontation that reportedly spurred Jolie to file for divorce. The confrontation involved Pitt and their oldest child, Maddox, then 15, and it occurred during a private flight carrying Jolie, Pitt and their children from France to Los Angeles. Pitt was accused of being verbally and physically abusive towards Maddox during the flight.

Jolie alluded to the plane incident in her interview with The Guardian, saying, “It doesn’t start with the violation [the plane incident]. It’s so much more complicated than that.” She decried the fact that Maddox wasn’t allowed to testify, saying that had been “denied a voice in court.”

However, because Maddox is now 19, he is considered an adult and not subject to the custody decision. Pitt and Jolie’s other children are Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 14, and the 13-year-old twins, Knox and Vivienne.

Jolie said the fraught custody battle had been “horrific” and she didn’t take lightly her decision to divorce Pitt. “It took a lot for me to be in a position where I felt I had to separate from the father of my children,” she said.

In terms of children’s rights, Jolie criticized the United States for being the only country to have not fully ratified the United Nations convention on the rights of the child (UNCRC), which successive administrations have failed to send to the Senate. She suggested that her custody case would have been handled differently if the United States was a signatory.

Jolie’s book, co-authored with Amnesty International and human rights lawyer Geraldine Van Bueren, helps children understand the rights promised to them by the UNCRC, starting with the history of children’s rights and telling young readers how they can stand up for theirs.