Beyond Belief – Katie Baskerville

Comedian Russell Brand has been charged with rape and sexual assault, though he has pleaded not guilty, and continues to deny all allegations made against him. Brand is accused of oral rape and sexual assault against one woman in July 2004, and accused of raping another woman in 1999.

[35] One of the positives that Savin draws from reporting on these allegations and charges is that the preconception of what a violent rapist looks like is steadily being dismantled. ‘They can be charismatic, they can be talented, they can be sociable. And it’s this whole thing of a rapist doesn’t just pop out of a dark alley.’ Innes adds, ‘They’re more likely to be behind your front door than at the end of the alleyway.’

One thing Savin, Innes and I share as journalists is having to be meticulous with the evidence and depth of research in our reporting when speaking on statistics, allegations and charges against men accused of sexual violence before we can even think of publishing. ‘I do wish that the general public had more of an idea of how restricted we’ve always been by courts on what we can and can’t report on,’ Innes says.

‘I don’t think people realise how beholden we are to the law and, in particular, to editorial standards.’ Innes explains how vital it is to adhere to these protocols to retain the ability to write the stories of women experiencing such hardship. And yet, even then, adhering to these legal standards is not enough to shield Innes’s, Savin’s or my own reporting, nor that of our peers and colleagues, from disbelief and public scrutiny.

‘Working for a women’s title, you’re always trying to push to be taken seriously,’ Savin tells me. ‘I suppose there is that extra layer of having to fight for your legitimacy, in that sense.’ But both are resolute that – in view of the risks to their personal safety and the impact that telling these stories can have on their mental health – the victims who are coming forward and trusting them with some of the most traumatic moments of their lives must be listened to and supported throughout.

I’m reminded of another paragraph in Osborne-Crowley’s book: ‘Increasingly, what we are seeing is a war of opposing forces.

Macken House, 39/40 Mayor Street Upper, Dublin 1, D01 C9W8, Ireland First published in Great Britain by HQ 2026 Copyright © Katie Baskerville 2026 Katie Baskerville asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination.

Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers. Without limiting the exclusive rights of any author, contributor or the publisher of this publication, any unauthorised use of this publication to train generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is expressly prohibited.

HarperCollins also exercise their rights under Article 4(3) of the Digital Single Market Directive 2019/790 and expressly reserve this publication from the text and data mining exception. Source ISBN: 9780008730604 Ebook Edition © March 2026 ISBN: 9780008730628 Version 2026-02-26 1kitap1.com/en Note to Readers This ebook contains the following accessibility features which, if supported by your device, can be accessed via your ereader/accessibility settings: Change of font size and line height Change of background and font colours Change of font Change justification Text to speech Page numbers taken from the following print edition: ISBN 9780008730604 Certain portions of text this ebook are set in a specific font type to make it easier to distinguish between the different types of content in the book.

It may not be possible to change the font for these pieces of text. 1kitap1.com/en Dedication This book is dedicated to my grandmothers, Doris and Menai, who chose to live fiercely. 1kitap1.com/en Epigraph ‘… women, confined within the generality of their destiny as women, are united by a kind of immanent complicity. And what they seek first of all from each other is the affirmation of their common universe.’ – SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR, The Second Sex 1kitap1.com/en Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Note to Readers Dedication Epigraph Introduction Chapter One: A History of Gossip Chapter Two: Friend or Foe?

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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