No Shame

This is the sequel to No Virgin, in which Stacey Woods is groomed by a boy who she likes and who she thinks likes her. However, he idolises his corrupt older brother Martin and lures Stacey to a flat where she is raped by him. With the help of her closest friend, Patrice, Stacey finds the courage to go to the police and No Shame tells the story of the court case which ensues.

This book-and the prequel-are very important publications since they offer a familiar scenario to far too many young women and girls and, in addition, they clearly explain procedures-both medical and legal-which victims will be subjected to as the process of accusation and trial move inexorably forwards. Cassidy is also careful to detail the help which is available, in the shape of policewoman Annie Mulligan, a charismatic and understanding woman who seeks to explain and thus to reassure, giving young women the confidence to know they were not to blame for what happened to them.

Perhaps most tellingly, the judgement of the court goes against Stacey and newspaper headlines make immediate and clumsy moral judgements which dismay her even further, causing her to retreat into her bedroom, unwilling to face the world. However, her courage and the belief which her parents, Patrice and her teachers have in her give her the strength both to continue to apply to university and to cement a friendship with a young man who she met in her part-time job. Cassidy then demonstrates that the trial was not in vain as the publicity which Martin unwisely sought after the verdict rebounded on him when three women contacted the police to say that they, too, had been raped by him.

Cassidy’s thorough research, vivid characterisation and narrative honesty make this a book which should be in every school library, so that young women everywhere will be aware of both risks and rights.