Blog

Podcast: George Severs x Tanaka Mhishi: ‘Sons and Others: On Loving Male Survivors’

SHaME’s George Severs interviews author and activist Tanaka Mhishi about his powerful book ‘Sons and Others: On Loving Male Survivors’ following its launch late last year.

Publications1111
Publications

George Severs x Tanaka Mhishi: ‘Sons and Others: On Loving Male Survivors’

In this podcast, George Severs speaks to Tanaka Mhishi, author of ‘Sons and Others: On Loving Male Survivors’. Published in 2022 by 404 Ink, Sons and Others introduces readers to male survivors of sexual violence through four relational identities: sons, friends, fathers and lovers. Not only does Mhishi offer a wealth of information and advice, his book encourages us to ask better questions about male survivors. George and Tanaka discuss these themes, as well as the ways in which medical professionals interact with male survivors, how these interactions manifest positively and the ways in which they can be improved. Buy the brilliant book here!

Listen to the podcast here.

Tanaka Mhishi is a writer, performer and storyteller. He is an Associate Fellow of the SHaME project. His works with issues surrounding masculinity and trauma have been produced on screen for BBC 3 and on stages nationwide, including This Is How It Happens, a play about male survivors of sexual violence and the Off West End Award nominated Boys Don’t which he co-wrote and performed in in partnership with Papertale Productions and Half Moon Theatre. He is poet-in-residence for the Consent Collective and a trustee for SurvivorsUK, the UK’s preeminent charity supporting male and non-binary survivors of sexual violence. Tanaka works with media organisations, charities and universities to support conversations surrounding race, sexual violence, masculinity and consent.

George Severs is a Senior Associate Fellow of the SHaME Project, where he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow from 2021-2023. At Birkbeck, George’s research examined the history of male survivors of sexual violence and the impact of psychiatric research into male survivors, as well as the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on post-sexual assault forensic and genitourinary medicine. His first book, under contract with Bloomsbury Academic, is a study of HIV/AIDS activism in England. George is now a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, Switzerland.

CFP: Humour and Sexual Violence Workshop
Podcast: What’s Missing from the Conversation? Design and Sexual Violence