Skip to main content

Rape, revisted

When: —
Venue: Birkbeck 43 Gordon Square

No booking required

#metoo, New Years Eve in Cologne, Germany, Jimmi Saville, Roman Polanski, grooming gangs. Article IX – there is no shortage of media coverage and fierce social debate about rape. But why do we speak and think about it the way we do?


First of all, rape is the most gendered of all crimes. And as if this isn’t enough, it’s also the crime that genders us the most. The way we think about rape is intricately and disturbingly related to the way we think about sex – and that encompasses, in this case, sex in the meaning of sexuality and in the meaning of gender, in equal measure. But it doesn’t stop there, the discourse about rape is also linked to attitudes towards race, right and wrong bodies and vulnerability.

Not long ago Germany changed its rape laws to include No means no, Britain and Sweden implemented Yes means yes. We are witnessing history in the making and we are part of that change. High time for a new and informed debate about rape, sexual boundaries and consent. What exactly is a rape culture? Why do we expect victims to be irreparably damaged? Why is it so hard to think of men as victims?


The answers lie in the complex and often mind-boggling history of rape. From Aristotle to #YesAllWomen, from The Rape of Lucrece to new/old debates about the concept of victimhood via Foucault and feminist anti rape activism, my aim is to reveal the invisible thought structures, investigate deep-seated beliefs we hold in connection with rape and look at prevention, healing and the meaning of consent.

Dr Mithu Sanyal is a cultural historian, author and broadcaster. Her books include the cultural histories „Vulva“ and „Rape“. She is an award winning journalist and has a regular column in the German newspaper „Taz“.

This event is supported by Birkbeck Gender and Sexuality (BiGS)

Contact name: