This is Strong
"The more I travelled on my own I realised that for the most part the world is full of good people"
An intelligent, independent successful woman used to solo travel decided on a business trip to take a hike.
Something that Winnie had done many times before. It was the middle of the afternoon. She was prepared. Later she would ask so many questions... What if I'd left 5 minutes earlier? What if it had rained? What if I had decided not to go at all. You only ask yourself these questions when something goes wrong. That day Winnie's paths crossed with a violent teenager and from that moment her life would never be the same again.
Being a rape survivor. Winnie had to rebuild her life. She is now an advocate for survivors of sexual assault, and has written an award-winning novel based on her experience, even writing an imagined history of her attacker. This is Winnie... This Is Strong.
"Every victim always thinks 'what could I have done to avoid that?' and that can very quickly slide into 'it was my fault' or 'I was somehow responsible' "
Listen to my chat with Winnie here:
Buy "Dark Chapter" here: https://www.bookdepository.com/Dark-Chapter-Hard-hitting-crime-fiction-based-on-true-story-Winnie-M-Li/9781785079061
Winnie runs Clear Lines, an organisation which addresses sexual violence through the arts and discussion:
Visit Winnie's Website here: winniemli.com
More info on Winnie can be found here:
TEDx London (16-min live talk at Royal Festival Hall): www.ted.com/talks/winnie_m_li_refram- ing_the_way_we_think_about_sexual_violence
BBC World News (5-min TV interview): https://youtu.be/IfMoXawLdkQ
Sky News ‘Divided’ (12-minute TV interview): https://youtu.be/dSeAnscwC5c
1000 Londoners video (3-min video portrait): http://www.1000londoners.com/londoners/winnie-m-li/
LA Review of Books (interview): https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/out-of-the-darkness-a-conversation-with-winnie-m-li/
The Guardian (opinion piece):
The Irish Times (feature article): https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/dark-chapter-my-rape-regrowth-and-recovery-1.2366419
The Guardian (feature article): https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jul/31/winnie-m-li-rape-survivors-system
The Times (first-person feature): https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/i-was-raped-by-a15-year-old-boy-xdf8g8qgw
The Mail on Sunday (first-person feature): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-4488636/First-person-need-break-silence-rape.html
BBC Woman’s Hour (15-min radio interview): https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09drjf4
BBC World Service, ‘The Conversation: Survivors of Sexual Assault’ (27-minute radio interview):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csynj1
Gal-Dem magazine (feature article): https://gal-dem.com/shame-is-for-him-and-him-alone-the-ground-breaking-novel-written-by-a-survivor-of-rape/