Asking for It (30 page)
And I didn’t have any answer for that.
I don’t want to live in that type of world any more. I see young girls playing in my local park and I feel so very afraid for them, for the culture that they’re growing up in. They deserve to live in a world where sexual assault is rare, a world where it is taken seriously and the consequences for the perpetrators are swift and severe.
We need to talk about rape. We need to talk about consent. We need to talk about victim-blaming and slut-shaming and the double standards we place upon our young men and women.
We need to talk and talk and talk until the Emmas of this world feel supported and understood. Until they feel like they are believed.
Louise O’Neill
If you have been affected by the issues raised in this book, the following organizations can help. These websites provide information and can direct you to services available in your local area.
Republic of Ireland
Rape Crisis Centre
1800 77 8888
United Kingdom
Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre
0808 802 9999
Australia
National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence
Counselling Service for people living in Australia
1800 737 732
Acknowledgements
My two main women – Niamh Mulvey, my superb editor, who makes me look a lot more talented than I actually am. I couldn’t do this without you. Rachel Conway, my agent, who is endlessly patient and encouraging and always knows how to make me feel better.
Thank you to my mother, for showing me what unconditional love looks like, and to my father, the kindest man I have ever known.
Thank you to my friends and my family for being so supportive. You all know who you are and how much you mean to me.
Thank you to Lauren Woosey and to everyone at Quercus for their hard work on my behalf. I feel very lucky to be working with such inspiring, passionate people.
Thank you to Children’s Books Ireland, to the reviewers and journalists who wrote about
Only Ever Yours
, the bloggers who shouted about it online, the booksellers who forced it into people’s hands and the readers who emailed me to tell me how much they loved it. You are making my dreams come true.
Thank you to the Arts Council of Ireland for their generous support.
Thank you to Mary Crilly of the Rape Crisis Centre in Cork. The work you do is incredible.
Thank you to Helen-Claire O’Hanlon for reading the manuscript and giving me such incisive notes about the Irish legal system. Thanks also to Sharon Brooks and Eimear O’Regan for their advice on the law and the education system at the early stages of writing this book. Any mistakes are my own.
Thank you to Isabelle Mannix for being so gracious with me and my incessant texts asking about authentic slang used by Cork teenagers.
Finally, and most importantly, I want to thank the rape victims who shared their stories with me. I will never forget your courage and strength of character.
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