Sonia Orchard – författare

The first thing I need to know,'' I said to the detective, ''is has a crime been committed?''Sonia Orchard was in her forties when she told a therapist about the boyfriend she had when she was fifteen. Sure, he had been a decade older than her, but it was consensual ... wasn''t it? To her surprise, Sonia broke down in tears, then began to shake uncontrollably - an unmistakable expression of trauma that lasted for days. She was clearly not okay, but could the relationship she''d thought was loving really have been abuse? Had she been groomed?Years later, her own daughters now teenagers and the March4Justice changing the conversation about sexual assault, Sonia tentatively called the police. As she began the gruelling journey through the legal system, she saw how allegations of child abuse and sexual assault were routinely minimised, justified and rarely brought to light. Facing her own court case, she couldn''t shake bigger questions: how had we allowed this to happen, and what would it take to fix it?In Groomed, Orchard shifts between memoir and research in an attempt to answer these questions. She delves into culture, neuroscience and evolution, unpicking the enduring narratives that fuel these issues. As she navigates her way through a legal system stacked against victims of sexual assault, the obstacles to justice become clearer and more confronting than ever.Shocking, compelling and completely absorbing, this is an essential read from a fearless Australian writer.

Stories of child sexual abuse appear in the media weekly, often framed as isolated incidents. But child sexual abuse and exploitation is one of Australia’s most pervasive human rights challenges, affecting over a quarter of children. The ripple effect – the burden on mental health, drug and alcohol services – means all Australians pay for the damage wrought by these crimes. Yet we continue to see a crisis to respond to rather than a harm that could be prevented. In Before the Harm, Sonia Orchard challenges this reactive model. Drawing on interviews with leading voices including Jess Hill, Grace Tame and professors Ben Mathews, Michael Salter and Daryl Higgins, alongside research and accounts from survivors and offenders, she shows that abuse is neither random nor unknowable. It often follows recognisable pathways – and this gives opportunities for meaningful interventions. We know that policing is chronically underfunded, that tech companies’ reluctance to make platforms accountable leaves kids at risk, that grooming is on the rise. But there is a growing body of evidence for prevention measures to better protect children in homes, online and in the community. Clear-eyed and compelling, Before the Harm reframes one of our most confronting social issues – and shows that protecting children begins long before a crime is committed.