Laura Bates
July 2021
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am hugely grateful to the whole wonderful publishing team at Simon & Schuster. Special thanks to Lucy Pearse, my brilliant editor, for her enthusiasm, support and eagle-eyed attention to coconut-related specifics. Thank you to the fabulous design team for their evocative cover, and to Eve Wersocki-Morris and the marketing and publicity teams for being the real-life kick-ass cheerleading team making sure this book reached its readers! And to Lizzie Clifford for her fantastically forensic editing skills (including my first ever editing query about the direction of a stream of urine), and Anna Bowles for her meticulous proofreading.
A huge thank you to Steve Geck, Beth Oleniczak and the fantastic Sourcebooks dream team who bring my books to a US audience. And a special mention to Lucy Rogers, to Megan Staunton and everyone at Gleam Titles for helping to launch this book on its journey.
I’m so lucky to work with the incomparable Abi Bergstrom at Bergstrom Studios, the most hardworking, compassionate and supportive agent a writer could have, and Sarah Williams and Stevie Grace at Independent, who work so skilfully to help my ideas come to life beyond the pages of my books.
I am indebted to a number of experts who helped me with questions about the climate, flora and fauna of the Gulf of Mexico. They include David Williams and Duncan Allen, who furnished me with fascinating facts on everything from birdsong to pygmy raccoons. And the compulsively watchable Emmy Cho of Emmymade for her very detailed description of the flavour and texture of obscure tropical fruits. Special thanks to Harry Kiely for his encyclopaedic knowledge of all things related to aviation and plane crashes.
Thank you to Aileen, Emma, Lucy, Eily and Hayley for being such kind and enthusiastic early readers, and to Nick and my family for your incredible ongoing support.
Most of all, I am very grateful to every single young person I have worked with in the past decade at schools and universities across the UK, and the tens of thousands who have shared their stories with me via my Everyday Sexism Project. Your voices and stories matter enormously, and I feel very privileged that you have entrusted me with them. Your courage, your hope and your spirit of resistance inspires me every day. I promise you that you are not alone, no matter how much it might sometimes feel that way. And I promise you that we will keep fighting, together, to make things better.
HELPLINE ADVICE
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this book, you are not alone. A 2021 Ofsted report found that 80% of girls had experienced some form of sexual harassment at school and 79% had been sexually assaulted. A YouGov survey found that 71% of young people hear girls being called ‘slut’ or ‘slag’ at school more than once a week. On average, one rape per school day is reported to UK police from a UK school. And young women aged 16-24 are the single largest category of victims of domestic abuse.
I want you to know that change is coming. Every week I meet young people across the country who are taking action, determined to make things better. From launching a campaign, to starting their own feminist societies, a generation of girls is taking matters into their own hands and fighting back.
And for the days when you might not feel able to fight back (we all have days like those), help is out there. The following organisations provide information, confidential support and a listening ear when you might need it the most. Don’t be afraid to reach out for help. You are not alone, you are not to blame, and you deserve to feel better.
Rape Crisis (rapecrisis.org.uk) 0808 802 9999
Free, confidential support for women and girls who have experienced sexual assault, recent or historic
Refuge (refuge.org.uk) 0808 2000 247
National domestic abuse helpline
Women’s Aid (womensaid.org.uk)
For women and girls experiencing any form of relationship abuse. Live chat and email support available
Survivors UK (survivorsuk.org) 0203 598 3898
Support for men and boys who have experienced rape or sexual abuse
BullyingUK (bullying.co.uk) 0808 800 2222
Help for issues including sexting, online bullying and more
Revenge Porn Helpline (revengepornhelpline.org.uk) 0345 6000 459
Support for anyone who has had intimate images posted online without their consent
The Mix (themix.org.uk) 0808 808 4994
Free confidential support for young people on abuse, bullying, sex, relationships and pregnancy
Disrespect NoBody (disrespectnobody.co.uk)
Information and support on relationship abuse for young people
Papyrus Prevention of Young Suicide (papyrus-uk.org) 0800 068 4141
Help for young people experiencing depression or suicidal thoughts
Galop (http://www.galop.org.uk) 020 7704 2040 Advice and support for people who have experienced biphobia, homophobia, transphobia, sexual violence or domestic abuse.
More from the Author
The Burning
Men Who Hate Women
Misogynation
Girl Up
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Laura Bates is the Founder of the Everyday Sexism Project and writes regularly for the New York Times, Guardian, Telegraph and many others. She is a regular contributor to the Today Programme, Woman’s Hour, Channel 4 News, Newsnight and more, as well as working closely with politicians, businesses, schools, police forces and organisations from the Council of Europe to the United Nations. She has been awarded a British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Honours List for services to gender equality.
Her critically-acclaimed and award-winning non-fiction for adults includes Everyday Sexism, Misogynation, Girl, Up and Men Who Hate Women. Her first YA novel for teens, The Burning, was declared ‘essential reading’ by the Guardian and her second, The Trial is out now.
www.SimonandSchuster.co.uk/Authors/Laura-Bates
By L aura Bates
THE BURNING
THE TRIAL
Non-fiction
EVERYDAY SEXISM
GIRL UP
MISOGYNATION
MEN WHO HATE WOMEN
First published in Great Britain in 2021 by Simon & Schuster UK Ltd Text copyright © 2021 Laura Bates
This book is copyright under the Berne Convention.
No reproduction without permission.
All rights reserved.
The right of Laura Bates to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988.
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
PB ISBN 978-1-4711-8757-5
eBook ISBN 978-1-4711-8758-2
eAudio ISBN 978-1-3985-0016-7
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.