It’s seven years since #MeToo became a viral phenomenon. The social media campaign against sexual harassment and assault encouraged survivors to share their stories. But has anything changed in the way crime fiction is written as a result?

There are now novels that specifically reference the #MeToo movement, such as Complicit by Winnie M Li, The List by Yomi Adegoke and This Is Pleasure by Mary Gaitskill. Between them, they deal with the consequences of sex crimes for a set of main characters that include: a female film producer wondering if she could have done more to prevent the actions of the male predator (Complicit), a falsely accused man (The List) and the female friend of a man seemingly unaware his behaviour could be experienced as offensive (This is Pleasure).

These novels, all written by women, invite readers to consider differing perspectives in the aftermath of what appeared as a tsunami of offences. But by shifting the focus away from the perpetrators of the crimes they do little to challenge what some women activists identify as a rape culture.

In 2018, in response to the #MeToo movement, screenwriter Bridget Lawless launched the Staunch Prize. It was to be “awarded to the author of a novel in the thriller........

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