I May Destroy You Captures The Devastating Way The Justice System Fails Victims Of Sexual Assault
Michaela Coel’s incomparable sexual consent drama, I May Destroy You is a devastating exploration of the reality of sexual assault. The joint HBO-BBC commissioned special unravels the lead character Arabella’s trauma following her rape (Michaela Coel), and its subsequent consequences. The series is captivating for many reasons: the attention to detail, the multifaceted character development, the simultaneous intimacy and irrationality. Some moments are intangibly disorientating, while others are so abundantly raw, it hurts. Coel trusts in the viewer to draw the conclusions that aren’t necessarily explicit.
But what is especially clever about Arabella’s story is that it doesn’t begin with her assault in the way you would expect, typical of a televised re-telling. The incident punctures her ongoing story of success and joy in its tracks. Equally, her rape isn’t the only occurrence of sexual assault in the show, showing how pervasive sexual assault is through multiple narratives, such as the portrayal of non-consensual condom removal, as well as the assault of Kwame (Paapa Essiedu).
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Sexual trauma completely shatters you. It breaks you and your perception of reality into a million pieces, and in your attempt to reassemble each shard, you inevitably hurt yourself further. Trauma impacts career, friends, family, relationships, sense of security and perceived self-autonomy; essentially, almost every facet of your life. I May Destroy You captures these affects, both subtle and extreme, to perfection.
For both myself and many other survivors, it the exposure to the reality of reporting sexual violence in the UK that resonates deeply. In February 2017, I was raped. I’ve been through months of PTSD, NHS counselling (individual and group), antidepressants and more following both my...
