I am the statistic that I read about. I am the thing I always feared most. I am rape. That morning, Michelle had presented her psychology thesis on rape. It began: A woman born in South Africa has a greater chance of being raped than learning how to read That evening, celebrating her degree, she and a friend go to the beach, where they are robbed, assaulted and raped. Despite the support and resources of her successful middle-class family at her disposal, Michelle has to fight to regain her life, losing friendships, jobs and her identity along the way. She realises shell never be the same again. This story is one shared by women throughout the worldof living through a nightmare and trying to hold onto sanity.