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Louise Noakes, co-ordinator of Women Against Sexual Harassment, on the handling of the Brookside date rape case: 'Brookside showed the consequences of a man deciding that when a woman says 'no', it's not what she means. Dealing with the whole issue does a service and the coverage of Diana's experience, her uncertainties and doubts, was very accurate.

'Brookside said clearly that date rape is difficult to decide upon. We were left in very little doubt about what had taken place, the problem was deciding between two believable witnesses who had clearly experienced the same thing in different ways. Viewers will have been in two minds, so a legitimate use of drama would have been a hung jury. To come down on one side undermines the argument they've been putting forward for several weeks.

'Whatever the verdict, the sheer damage that was done to her life was clearly shown. But by acquitting him, women in similar circumstances might be dissuaded from following their case to court. There is an argument that showing date rape happens and that courts will deal with it seriously would provide a good social service.'

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