76: Is Rape A Crime? with Michelle Bowdler

Unbroken: Healing Through Storytelling

Michelle Bowdler is the author of Is Rape a Crime? A Memoir, an Investigation, and a Manifesto.

This book was longlisted for the National Book Award for Nonfiction, on the best books lists for Publishers Weekly and the Boston Globe as well as named a Must Read by TIME Magazine and the Massachusetts Book Awards.

Bowdler is the recipient of the Barbara Deming Memorial Award for nonfiction. Her writing has been published in two anthologies, the New York Times, Ms. Magazine, Psychology Today, the American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics, Literary Hub, and other journals.

Anita Hill writes of this book, "Is Rape a Crime? is beautifully written and compellingly told. In 2020, we were all looking for solutions and this book was right on time. It is one we should all be reading."

I was introduced to Michelle by a mutual friend who said I should have her on the show to discuss her powerful book and the work she is doing around violence against women

She was raped in her home by two men during a burglary and reported it to the Police who sent her to the hospital to have DNA taken using a rape test kit

Many years later she read an article about 1000’s of untested rape kits in the Police labs which led her onto a journey of enquiry about what happened to these tests and hers too.

I really believe that violence against women and misogyny is a hate crime and the rape laws in both of our countries need so many changes, not just in reporting rape and domestic violence but how victims are treated during a trial and the sentences that are given out, because we know that just a small percentage of trials end in a conviction.

Some key points from our interview:

· How sharing her “me too story” publicly for the first time was liberating · How she found it harder to come out about being raped than being gay

· How she started to do research into untested rape kits after reading an article in her local paper
· How her feminism and activism got reignited as she wanted to do something about the untested rape kits, which has a huge impact on women’s health and bring it to people’s attention
· How she feels lucky that she met someone who was patient with her

· How she recognises that we all have the ability to heal and move on despite going through hard times

Connect with Michelle here:

https://michelle-bowdler.com/about

To buy the book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rape-Crime-Memoir-Investigation-Manifesto/dp/1250255635
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"Unbroken: Healing Through Storytelling" features individuals who have all triumphed after adversity and have not just bounced back in life, but forward and are now making a difference for others.
You can find out more about Madeleine, her story and her memoir, Unbroken, from her website: https://madeleineblack.co.uk/
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