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Our Bodies, Their Battlefield

By: Christina Lamb
Narrated by: Christina Lamb - introduction, Antonia Beamish
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Publisher's Summary

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE

From award-winning war reporter and co-author of I Am Malala, this is the first major account to address the scale of rape and sexual violence in modern conflict.

Christina Lamb has worked in war and combat zones for over thirty years. In Our Bodies, Their Battlefield she gives voice to the women of conflicts, exposing how in today’s warfare, rape is used by armies, terrorists and militias as a weapon to humiliate, oppress and carry out ethnic cleansing.

Speaking to survivors first-hand, Lamb encounters the suffering and bravery of women in war and meets those fighting for justice. From Southeast Asia where ‘comfort women’ were enslaved by the Japanese during World War Two to the Rwandan genocide, when an estimated quarter of a million women were raped, to the Yazidi women and children of today who witnessed the mass murder of their families before being enslaved by ISIS. Along the way Lamb uncovers incredible stories of heroism and resistance, including the Bosnian women who have hunted down more than a hundred war criminals, the Aleppo beekeeper rescuing Yazidis and the Congolese doctor who has risked his life to treat more rape victims than anyone else on earth.

Rape may be as old as war but it is a preventable crime. Bearing witness does not guarantee it won’t happen again, but it can take away any excuse that the world simply didn’t know.

©2020 Christina Lamb (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic Reviews

"A wake-up call to the magnitude and horrors of rape in war - the world's most neglected war crime. These women’s stories will make you weep, and then rage at the world's indifference." (Amal Clooney)

"Christina Lamb has done the impossible – and written women into history. This book, Our Bodies, Their Battlefield is an extraordinary achievement ofin depth journalism, powerful storytelling, grit and heart. A wake up call to the magnitude and horror of rape of women throughout history and the world." (Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues)

"For millennia mass rape has been a weapon of war. But the testimony of abuse is almost entirely absent from all recorded history. At last this brave, beautiful and brutal book allows victims to speak – devastatingly, inspirationally." (Bettany Hughes)

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A powerful, vital & uneasy read

Despite the harrowing nature of the subject matter of this book, I wouldn’t have missed reading it. Written and narrated, so that the facts speak for themselves, and this book, never attempted to play on emotion – simply to portray the vivid and appalling circumstances of many women caught up as victims in war. Please read it, and pass on copies to 3 or more people that you know. The world – and particularly we men – need to hear this.

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Confronting in the best way

This took me many months to finish due to the heaviness of the subject matter but it is so important that the women interviewed in this book are heard and the atrocities committed against them are never forgotten. This is also one of the only books I’ve read that when mentioning the rape of Nanking, actually gives a voice to those who suffered directly or those who have supported those who suffered directly. I cannot begin to fathom how extremely taxing this must have been on the author to write, but I’m so glad she did.

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A mirror to the evils of humanity

Words are not enough, but spoken to tell the truth to free one from the darkness of stigma, pain and terror are words that should be enshrined in every nations soul. Their voices, their bodies, their strength and their stories are our voices, our bodies and the foundation on which we need to be able to move forward together. Justice for all victims! This book should be part of a widespreslad universal educational curriculum. A MUST READ.

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Terrible but important

Terrible but important to understand and prevent these crimes from going unpunished .
We need to do better.

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