Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town

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Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town
Missoula - Rape and the Justice System in a College Town (book cover).jpg
Author Jon Krakauer
LanguageEnglish
GenreNon-fiction
Publisher Doubleday
Publication date
2015
Publication placeUnited States
Pages367 pp. (Hardcover edition)
ISBN 978-0-3855-3873-2
Preceded by Three Cups of Deceit  
Followed by Classic Krakauer: Essays on Wilderness and Risk  

Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town is a 2015 nonfiction book written by Jon Krakauer. It details the stories of several female students raped in Missoula, Montana, with many of the rapes linked in some way to the University of Montana and their football team. Krakauer attempts to illuminate why many victims do not wish to report their rapes to the police and he criticizes the justice system for giving the benefit of the doubt to assailants but not to victims. Krakauer was inspired to write the book when a friend revealed to him that she had been raped. [1]

Contents

Summary

Krakauer chronicles the experiences of three female college students who alleged they were victims of sexual assault, detailing the different avenues they utilized to pursue justice, and the pushback they faced from systemic forces. [2] [3] Of the three cases, two involved members of the University of Montana Football team, linebacker Beau Donaldson (who pleaded guilty to the rape of one of the victims) and quarterback Jordan Johnson (who was acquitted in state court after being expelled by the university). [4] [3] The third case involves the struggles of a student's case that prosecutors declined to pursue, and her decision to go to the press. [5]

Krakauer sheds light on the various obstacles women face when reporting their assaults to the authorities, such as fear of the resulting backlash of their community, prosecutors not believing their stories, and the struggle of having to relive the trauma as the case works its way through the justice system. [6] Krakauer also notes how the victims experienced backlash and pushback from many Grizzlies fans. [7] The book additionally highlights the action of current Missoula County Attorney Kirsten Pabst, as prior to her current position she "left her position as chief deputy county attorney to successfully defend star UM quarterback Jordan Johnson in a highly publicized rape trial. After his acquittal, she was elected to county attorney, having campaigned on a promise of reforming the office to show more compassion toward victims." [8]

Krakauer concludes the book by noting how the circumstances at the University of Montana are not unique and that sexual assault on college campuses remains a nationwide problem. [9]

Controversy

Some residents of Missoula took issue with the title of the book, questioning whether or not it was right to highlight the name of the city, given the fact that rape is a nationwide issue. [10] Kirsten Pabst reportedly sent a letter to the book's publisher in an attempt to stall its release, claiming that the book was based on "half truths" and that it essentially "constitutes one sided journalism." [11] Krakauer responded that he sent her office "questions that were never answered." [10]

Reception

Emily Bazelon, writing for The New York Times Book Review , gave the book a lukewarm review, criticizing it for not fully exploring its characters or appreciating the difficulty colleges face in handling and trying to prevent sexual assault. "Instead of delving deeply into questions of fairness as universities try to fulfill a recent government mandate to conduct their own investigations and hearings—apart from the police and the courts—Krakauer settles for bromides," Bazelon wrote. "University procedures should 'swiftly identify student offenders and prevent them from reoffending, while simultaneously safeguarding the rights of the accused,' he writes, asserting that this 'will be difficult, but it's not rocket science.'" [1]

Writing in the Los Angeles Times , Lacy M. Johnson gave the book a positive review, describing the writing as "compelling" and the research as "meticulous." "I wish women didn’t need a voice such as his to corroborate our experience of violence, but I am glad we have him as an ally in this work," Johnson wrote. [12]

Brendan Fitzgerald, writing for the Columbia Journalism Review , remarks that "the book delivers" on its promises to be "carefully documented" and "meticulously reported," calling the book "a remarkably transparent work of nonfiction." [13]

Jeff Baker of The Oregonian also had mixed opinions on the book, noting that it "is not a great book" while also remarking that "it is an important one." [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missoula, Montana</span> City in Montana, United States

Missoula is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers in western Montana and at the convergence of five mountain ranges, and thus it is often described as the "hub of five valleys". The 2020 United States census recorded the city's population at 73,489 and the population of the Missoula Metropolitan Area at 117,922. As of 2023, the estimated city population was 77,757. Missoula is the second largest city and metropolitan area in Montana. Missoula is home to the University of Montana, a public research university.

Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence that includes child sexual abuse, groping, rape, drug facilitated sexual assault, and the torture of the person in a sexual manner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Krakauer</span> American writer and journalist (born 1954)

Jon Krakauer is an American writer and mountaineer. He is the author of bestselling non-fiction books—Into the Wild; Into Thin Air; Under the Banner of Heaven; and Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman—as well as numerous magazine articles. He was a member of an ill-fated expedition to summit Mount Everest in 1996, one of the deadliest disasters in the history of climbing Everest.

Sexual misconduct is misconduct of a sexual nature which exists on a spectrum that may include a broad range of sexual behaviors considered unwelcome. This includes conduct considered inappropriate on an individual or societal basis of morality, sexual harassment and/or criminal sexual assault.

Prison rape commonly refers to the rape of inmates in prison by other inmates or prison staff. In 2001, Human Rights Watch estimated that at least 4.3 million inmates had been raped while incarcerated in the United States. A United States Department of Justice report, Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by Inmates, states that "In 2011–12, an estimated 4.0% of state and federal prison inmates and 3.2% of jail inmates reported experiencing one or more incidents of sexual victimization by another inmate or facility staff in the past 12 months or since admission to the facility, if less than 12 months." However, advocates dispute the accuracy of the numbers, saying they seem to under-report the real numbers of sexual assaults in prison, especially among juveniles.

In scholarly literature and criminology, gang rape, also called serial gang rape, party rape, group rape, or multiple perpetrator rape, is the rape of a single victim by two or more violators. Gang rapes are forged on shared identity, religion, ethnic group, or race. There are multiple motives for serial gang rapes, such as for sexual entitlement, asserting sexual prowess, war, punishment, and, in up to 30% of cases, for targeting racial minorities, religious minorities, or ethnic groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rape culture</span> Society in which rape is pervasive and normalised

Rape culture is a setting, as described by some sociological theories, in which rape is pervasive and normalized due to that setting's attitudes about gender and sexuality. Behaviors commonly associated with rape culture include victim blaming, slut-shaming, sexual objectification, trivializing rape, denial of widespread rape, refusing to acknowledge the harm caused by sexual violence, or some combination of these. It has been used to describe and explain behavior within social groups, including prison rape and in conflict areas where war rape is used as psychological warfare. Entire societies have been alleged to be rape cultures.

Date rape is a form of acquaintance rape and dating violence. The two phrases are often used interchangeably, but date rape specifically refers to a rape in which there has been some sort of romantic or potentially sexual relationship between the two parties. Acquaintance rape also includes rapes in which the victim and perpetrator have been in a non-romantic, non-sexual relationship, for example as co-workers or neighbors.

Rape can be categorized in different ways: for example, by reference to the situation in which it occurs, by the identity or characteristics of the victim, and by the identity or characteristics of the perpetrator. These categories are referred to as types of rape. The types described below are not mutually exclusive: a given rape can fit into multiple categories, by for example being both a prison rape and a gang rape, or both a custodial rape and the rape of a child.

Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person who is incapable of giving valid consent, such as one who is unconscious, incapacitated, has an intellectual disability, or is below the legal age of consent. The term rape is sometimes used interchangeably with the term sexual assault.

Rape in the United States is defined by the United States Department of Justice as "Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim." While definitions and terminology of rape vary by jurisdiction in the United States, the FBI revised its definition to eliminate a requirement that the crime involve an element of force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victim Rights Law Center</span> American non-profit organization

The Victim Rights Law Center (VRLC) is a non-profit organization that provides free legal services to victims of rape and sexual assault in Massachusetts and Oregon. Established in 2003, it became the first nonprofit law center in the United States solely dedicated to serving the legal needs of sexual assault victims. The VRLC mission is to "provide legal representation to victims of rape and sexual assault to help rebuild their lives and to promote a national movement committed to seeking justice for every rape and sexual assault victim." VRLC also seeks to transform the legal response to sexual assault in the United States.

Campus sexual assault is the sexual assault, including rape, of a student while attending an institution of higher learning, such as a college or university. The victims of such assaults are more likely to be female, but any gender can be victimized. Estimates of sexual assault, which vary based on definitions and methodology, generally find that somewhere between 19–27% of college women and 6–8% of college men are sexually assaulted during their time in college.

Annie Elizabeth Clark is a women's rights and civil rights activist in the United States. She was one of the lead complainants of the 2013 Title IX and Clery Act charges lodged against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, claiming that the institution violated the law by the way they handled sexual assault complaints. Clark and Andrea Pino, then a fellow UNC student and also a victim of sexual assault, launched a nationwide campaign to use Title IX complaints to force U.S. universities to address sexual assault and related problems more aggressively. Clark is co-founder with Pino of End Rape on Campus, an advocacy group for victims of campus sexual assault.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimberly Corban</span> American activist

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References

  1. 1 2 "Jon Krakauer's 'Missoula,' About Rape in a College Town". New York Times. May 3, 2015. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Baker, Jeff (2015-04-23). "Jon Krakauer's 'Missoula' tackles rape in a small town". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  3. 1 2 Talbot, Margaret (2015-04-24). "Going to Court in Jon Krakauer's "Missoula"". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  4. ↑ O'Brian, Edward (2016-02-17). "Montana Will Pay Jordan Johnson $245,000 Over Rape Charges". Montana Public Radio. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  5. ↑ Krakauer, Jon (2015), Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town, New York: Anchor Books/Doubleday, ISBN   978-0-385-53873-2 , pp. 111
  6. ↑ Pearson, Laura (2015-04-23). "Review: 'Missoula' by Jon Krakauer". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  7. ↑ Krakauer, Jon (2015). Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town. Anchor Books/Doubleday. p. 300. ISBN   978-0-385-53873-2.
  8. ↑ Baynham, Jacob (2015-05-07). "Krakauer Attacks Campus Rape, Defends Book (But Police Still Won't Read It)". Outside Online. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  9. ↑ Krakauer, Jon (2015). Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town. Anchor Books/Doubleday. p. 340. ISBN   978-0-385-53873-2.
  10. 1 2 Healy, Jack (2015-04-21). "Anxiety in Missoula Over Book About Campus Assaults". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  11. ↑ Szpaller, Keila (2015-04-21). "Pabst made last-ditch effort to delay publication of 'Missoula'". missoulian.com. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  12. ↑ "Review: Jon Krakauer takes on 'Missoula' in timely study of campus rape" . Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  13. ↑ Fitzgerald, Brendan. "Krakauer's Missoula and the scrutiny of reporters who cover rape". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
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