Virginity has been framed as something a girl must safeguard and hold on to as long as possible

Girls need to understand that sex is normal and natural, not something that needs to be contained to protect their reputation.

While both of my novels explore the impact that living in a patriarchal society can have upon the mental health of young women, it was when I began to speak publicly about my decision to write Asking For It, a novel that deals with the rape of a young woman in a small Irish town and the subsequent use of social media to circulate images of the attack, that I started to receive emails and letters from mothers of teenage daughters.

They would ask me how best to protect their daughters and their anxiety was palpable.