Game of Thrones is no stranger to controversy for its use of sexual violence, but the show has received an especially great deal of criticism following a Season 5 episode that portrayed the rape of Sansa Stark. Martin spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the role of violence in his stories and why he views it as necessary. He said it comes down to a reflection of a “patriarchal society based on the Middle Ages,” which were “not a time of sexual egalitarianism.”
