Words Can Describe

'I woke with a start. The duvet was gone and there was a man on top of me. I shut my eyes. It took several peeks before I realized: this is happening.' Only 5 per cent of reported rapes in the UK result in a conviction. Only 20 per cent of rapes perpetrated in the UK are even reported. Sixteen years ago writer Abi Grant was attacked by a drug-addicted serial rapist, who'd broken into her flat in the early hours of the morning. She reported it but was told her attacker 'was not known to the police' and that was that. Fifteen violent minutes had changed her life. She lost everything: home, relationship, agent, money, career - even her dog. For eight years she floundered, unable to work and sinking further and further into depression and addiction. Gradually, she picked up the threads, rebuilt her life and resumed her career. Then twelve years after the attack, the Cold Case Unit came calling. 'We think we've got him, ' they said . . . This is her story - complete with dysfunctional family background, teen trauma and a gripping account of what going to court to try to get a rape conviction really means today, including a guide to the do's and don'ts of handling trauma victims and some candid (but well-researched) suggestions for improving conviction rates. It's all too easy for any one of us to slip through society's cracks, but Abi is a survivor; her unique voice - angry, hurt and often, surprisingly, funny - gives the lie to the old saw that words cannot describe terrible experiences. They can - and she does, with honesty, passion and a wonderfully dark wit.