Missoula: Chapter 11

Chapter eleven of Missoula by Jon Krakauer was a frustrating read.  It was very apparent that the investigators who were supposedly “helping” Allison Huguet convict the man who raped her, Beau Donaldson, weren’t actually much help at all.  In the beginning, the detectives seemed to question whether or not Huguet was lying rather than questioning if Donaldson had sexually assaulted her.  Even though Huguet’s case was stressful and draining on her, it actually became rather important for other young women because it gave them the courage to share their own stories with sexual assault.  However, investigators still questioned these young women’s accusations which obviously takes steps backwards rather than moving forward towards justice.

I found this to be extremely frustrating because of the shame and guilt it obviously causes sexual assault victims to feel.  When victims like Huguet and many others aren’t taken seriously it causes other people to feel as though they should just keep their mouth shut instead of going through the long process of being questioned and prodded.  For instance, victims are often asked about what they were wearing the night of the assault, how much they had to drink, or why they were even out partying in the first place.  No matter what the circumstances are, sexual assault is probably the most horrible thing that can happen to a person and must be taken seriously.  Demoralizing questions such as the ones I listed above should not be asked of a sexual assault victim.  More importantly we should be asking what the attacker looked like, where the incident took place, or if they knew the person’s name.  The system needs to be changed dramatically in order for assailants to be locked away.

I know that sexual assualy will most likely never end within society, but my biggest fear when reading all of the accounts given in Missoula is that if women aren’t taken seriously people will continue to believe that they can get away with these heinous crimes and continue to be the trash that they are.  Overall, this makes me question what causes an investigator to determine whether a victims accusations of sexual assault are valid or not.  In my opinion there is no right answer to this question because all victims of sexual assault should be taken seriously and their accusations taken entirely valid.  As we continue our discussions in class I hope that more light will be shed on this topic.