The most recommended books about sexual assault

The world-building in this masterfully written story is truly exceptional. And you’ll fall in love with the characters too.

Needlework is full of action, adventure, unexpected twists and turns, and lots of music. I absolutely loved the song texts interwoven in the story. 

The author created an outstanding atmosphere that you will happily lose yourself in. As the heroes join the music festival that takes them on a journey throughout the realm, which is about to be torn apart by a war in which they will be forced to pick sides, the readers learn all about their conflicted past and can’t help but genuinely empathize with them.

A first-person novel published in 1974, this wry, low-key thriller, quietly shattering, slaloms through marriage and infidelity, prosperity and poverty, motherhood and neglect. I first came across The Shadow Knows shortly after it was published, turned the pages at speed, and in my head argued furiously with the protagonist all the way through. Re-reading it forty years later, I was still aghast, and just as mesmerized. I think it’s safe to say the narrator’s response to sexual violence—like much else in this book—would be impossible to publish in the present; it is as revelatory about our moment as about the one in which it was written and set. 

I didn’t read Last Days of Hot Slit in time to include it in my own book about sexual violence. In truth, I could have (barely; it was published just before I finished). But I felt comfortable with my aversion to Dworkin, a crusader against assault who had found common cause with conservative activists. And Dworkin was a self-defeating font of vituperation, wasn’t she? Well, no. She was in fact altogether brilliant. Fateman’s wonderfully lucid, deeply researched introduction and the careful selection she and Scholder made of Dworkin’s surprisingly wide-ranging work, demonstrate the force and courage not just of this radical feminist’s writing, but also of her character. She was dauntless.

The Fix is tough to read at moments, but so, so necessary. The Me Too movement showed us that just about every female has been subject to assault on some level. Childhood sexual assault is so common that many survivors don't disclose because they don't want to seem weak. Telling someone is the best thing survivors can do for themselves, and The Fix shows that sometimes you can't whisper the truth. Sometimes you have to shout it. 

This anthology is as powerful as it is still necessary: beware. Some pieces may be triggering, but they raised my awareness and empathy. These collected poems from writers across the globe declare one common theme: resistance. By exploring sexual assault and violence in their work, each writer resists the patriarchal systems of power that continue to support a misogynist justice system that supports abusers. In doing so, they reclaim their power and their voice. Resistance underscores the validity of all women’s experiences, and the importance of dignifying such experiences in voice, however that may sound. Because once survivors speak out and disrupt their pain, there is no telling what else they can do.

This novel was once lauded as an “ultimate feminist fantasy” and is about Bella, a woman who’s eventually had enough of being a victim and sets about murdering sleazy men.

I remember how this novel and author lost some respect when the book was picked up by film director Michael Winner (of Death Wish movies fame).

Winner went on to play fast and loose, adapting it into serial killer schlock. But. Don’t let that put you off as this novel is far better, more witty, and funny than any Winner movie.

It fulfils the fantasy of what (every now and then) a woman might love to do to any man who “done her wrong”. Surely a blueprint for serial killer and assassin Villanelle?

Emma O’Donovan is a pretty and popular 18-year-old whose life completely changes after she attends a couple of parties and the following day is found semi-conscious on her doorstep. Unaware of what she has been through the night before, Emma struggles to cope with the public shaming that ensues. This is a brilliant examination of consent, rape culture, and how hard it can be to speak out and seek justice.

This book is an amazing fantasy novel with romance aspects written into the plot. It dives into a world that exists beyond our own, where those with magic exist. In this book the main character, Adelynn, discovers she has had magic all her life and is fated to attend a school for those like her. The book does a wonderful job showing the darker sides of main characters. The romance in the book will draw you right in. 

A rumor about teenage sexual assault has long-term repercussions on a handful of characters in this superb novel that toggles among different genres—thriller, mystery, women’s fiction, coming-of-age literary, even screenplays—with voices in first, second, and third person, a fascinating way of looking at a single event from every angle. The characters are astoundingly well-drawn, in particular the spot-on portraits of teenaged boys, which are a master class on how to write credible, realistic, and true characters that are well beyond the novelist’s own experience. Even the title itself is a clever subversion.

This feminist take on a werewolf story was the perfect balance of funny and seriously moving, with a good dose of stomach-twisting body horror tossed in occasionally.

I went into this story expecting horror and humor, and while it certainly has both, it was the exploration of ways the world takes woman's agency of their own bodies that really moved me. The main character's transformation into a werewolf serves as a subtle and masterfully crafted metaphor for surviving sexual assault, with an embracing of female rage that was so satisfying to read.

Harrison is a master of feminist horror that is perfectly balanced with humor and outlandish events that are still firmly grounded in our world. I finished the book feeling both empowered and a little nauseated (in the best way).