On 1 April 1999 multi-award winning journalist Charlene Smith was raped at knifepoint in her Johannesburg home. Severely traumatised, she was none the less determined to speak out, and her first moving article about her rape and possible HIV infection was published just a week after the ordeal.
So began an unrelenting campaign giving her a platform from which she has challenged traditional thinking on sexual violence, women's liberation, trauma management and HIV/AIDS. Her crusade has seen her endure stalkers, death threats and political persecution and has been covered by the world's media, from 'Time' magazine, CBS's '60 Minutes' and the BBC to the media in Uganda, Kenya and Brazil, amongst others.
Drawing on the support of those around her, 'Proud Of Me' is her account of how rape and fear of HIV infection impacted on her own life, the lives of her children and those close to her.
