Lena Dunham's sister, Grace Dunham, confronts sex abuse claims

Grace Dunham, the younger sister of American actor Lena Dunham, appears to havecome to her sister's defence amid allegations theGirlscreatorsexually abused her as a little girl.

• Lena Dunham disputes abuse allegations in Twitter 'rage spiral'

The claims stem from Dunham'sfrank new memoir,Not That Kind of Girl. It contains highly personal descriptions of the girls' interactions, including"Grace was sitting up, babbling and smiling, and I leaned down between her legs and carefully spread open her vagina. She didn't resist and when I saw what was insideI shrieked."

Passages like thesesparked outrage among conservative members of the American media who accused Dunham of "very disturbing behaviour."

The younger Dunhamappeared to be defending hersister in a series of messages on Twitter on Monday night.

"As a queer person: I'm committed to people narrating their own experiences,determining for themselves what has and has not been harmful," she wrote.

She also appealed for the public to "thinkabout how we police the sexualities of young women, queer, and trans people."

• On mobile? read GraceDunham'smessages hereand here.

LenaDunhamhas adamantly denied any impropriety, calling the allegations "upsetting and disgusting."

The outspoken author, who has made a career of telling young women's stories, has since cancelleda number of public appearances in light of the backlash.