Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town

Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer

35 reviews

heybrownberry's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

I would recommend this read for many folks because it uncovers so many important layers of this topic. It was difficult at times to continue, but with it to get the information.

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gusreads's review against another edition

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dark sad medium-paced

4.5

This is an important but absolutely infuriating book that yet again demonstrates the complete dumpster fire that is the American criminal justice system. The failures in Missoula, Montana to serve victims of rape and sexual violence, and to prosecute those responsible, are shocking yet not unique to that place. However to learn that the county responded to the failures by electing Kirsten Pabst to be the new county district attorney is a new level of shocking, awful red state behavior. Electing the woman who was largely responsible for the failures shows how wide swaths of America are essentially The Handmaids Tale come to life.

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maddielo's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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niamhreadsbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective fast-paced

4.75

A really hard read in terms of the content, but the writing style makes it very 'readable.' This is a thoroughly researched book which documents the Missoula rape crisis that left women and girls vulnerable to the unwanted advances of college and football students. Krakauer is not afraid to call out blatant lies and misleading information throughout this book when it was clear that police and state officials were lying or misrepresenting facts. He was consistently on the side of the victims while also providing interesting - but harrowing- interview transcripts from the rapists at the heart of some of the accusations. While vile to read, they provide an interesting insight into how these acquaintance rapes are thought of by those who commit them (hint: they don't think of them as rape in the slightest, despite their own disgusting tellings of some incidents). Well worth a read, if you can stomach it.

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sonygaystation's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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qsick's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative medium-paced

4.25

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cateyackerman's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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floratristan's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

4.25

Extremely depressing, infuriating and frustrating read. At some point it's just hard not to scream, it seems like any man, even your close childhood friend, could be a potential threat and rape you. And no matter how much evidence you gather, how obvious your case is, there are a multitude of hurdles: the slim chance of the police taking you seriously, then of the DA accepting to prosecute your case, then of the case verdict being "guilty". And even if all this happens, there are still extremely mild sentences and many options to appeal.
I find it interesting that colleges in the US have a kind of legal system. I wonder if that's the case for any European universities (not as far as I know) and why that is. Is it because expulsion is only possible once a criminal investigation happens? Reminded me of the UdK case.
I also find it interesting that there are different levels of how much proof you need, even in court between criminal and civil cases. Beyond a reasonable doubt or just through the sheer multitude of evidence.
Lastly, I think it's important to know statistics in order to talk about the subject in an informed way: over 90% of accusations of rape are true, and most rapists are serial rapists. What makes me especially angry is when female friends or people like Kristin Pabst betray victims of rape. I just don't get it! I empathie so much with the women telling their stories, with the feelings they describe even if their reactions don't make sense in a rational way, about the trauma afterward, etc. So how someone like Pabst can turn off her empathy or forget what it's like to be a woman in a misogynistic society is beyond me.
4,5 stars because I found it a little bit strange that in the beginning, Huguets story was partly told from the perspective of her father and how hard it was for him to face his daughters rape. I get that Krakauer is a middle aged man who probably empathises with the father's position the most, but especially at the beginng of the book this perspective should not have so much weight, because it promotes the idea of paternalistic, macho, "my daughter's innocence and purity are virtues that I as a father need to protect vehemently more than other qualities she might have" narrative

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abbuelita's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative sad medium-paced

5.0

This book made my blood boil, not because of the author but because of the subject matter. The way the women featured in this book were treated by the police, prosecutors, defense attorneys and society at large is horrendous. Important read, as this issue is certainly not unique to Missoula but unfortunately happens at every college campus everywhere. Just be forewarned that there are very graphic descriptions of rape and sexual assault.

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aysia_dukes's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative sad tense slow-paced

3.25

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