Today, I'm so glad to have fantastic YA author Kirsty Eagar here to answer some questions about her novel Raw Blue and rape survivors.
How did you come up with the idea for Raw Blue?
I’d felt strongly about the subject matter for a long time, but the catalyst for me to actually write the story was some very profile sexual assault cases that went to trial in Australia in 2005 and 2006. The victims were on trial, rather than the perpetrators: in the courts, in the media, and in the court of public opinion. Having witnessed that, I could completely understand why someone who’d been sexually assaulted might choose not to come forward. There is so much focus on the victim, and what they should and should not do in response to this crime. My view is that unless we can guarantee a decent safety net for them, we can’t expect them to jump. I also don’t think anyone can dictate the terms of another person’s survival. The focus and pressure needs to shift to the men who commit these crimes.
Continue reading Sex in Teen Lit Month II - Interview with Kirsty Eagar
How did you come up with the idea for Raw Blue?I’d felt strongly about the subject matter for a long time, but the catalyst for me to actually write the story was some very profile sexual assault cases that went to trial in Australia in 2005 and 2006. The victims were on trial, rather than the perpetrators: in the courts, in the media, and in the court of public opinion. Having witnessed that, I could completely understand why someone who’d been sexually assaulted might choose not to come forward. There is so much focus on the victim, and what they should and should not do in response to this crime. My view is that unless we can guarantee a decent safety net for them, we can’t expect them to jump. I also don’t think anyone can dictate the terms of another person’s survival. The focus and pressure needs to shift to the men who commit these crimes.
Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar (review copy) - Carly has dropped out of uni to spend her days surfing and her nights working as a cook in a Manly café. Surfing is the one thing she loves doing … and the only thing that helps her stop thinking about what happened two years ago at schoolies week.
