PANEL TIMES TBA!

Sexual Assault in Fiction
Tanwi Nandini Islam (author of Bright Lines), Helen Benedict (author of Sand Queen and The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq)

Works of fiction have the power to explore the topic of sexual assault in a way no journalistic work can, bringing nuance and emotion to a painful and all too common experience. Yet too often, creators treat sexual assault in as a cheap way to create backstory and character depth, or, worse yet, as a way to make their work seem edgy. How can we explore this sensitive, and often traumatic, topic in a way that raises awareness and supports survivors – rather than exploiting their pain and suffering for shock value?