9/1

In discussing the book today, I found our class made a lot of strong points about rape culture in the United States and the extreme problems that come along with it. One of the first points that came about in this discussion is the lack of professionalism amongst officers when handling the rape cases seen in Missoula. Officers are supposed to believe the entire story until it is done being told and then make a decision if they can find any evidence supporting the story, doing all they can, and then hand it over to the prosecutor’s office to take the case. This is not the case in Missoula. Officers weren’t reporting every case, they weren’t even gathering evidence, because they decided “not enough evidence” would be able to be found. The standard of proof in a rape case is completely different than that of any other type of case.

This leads into the next point that struck me as disturbing, cruel, and unfair. When a car is stolen from a person’s driveway, that person immediately calls the police in order to find the thief, and to make the authorities aware of what happened immediately. There is no hesitation. There is no second thought. There is no victim blaming. The police will believe your car was stolen, it is something tangible, and it is something missing. When it comes to something intangible, something police cannot physically see is missing, it becomes much harder for them to believe. Instead of thinking the victim is telling the truth about rape until proven they are lying (an incredibly small percentage of accusations), police assume the victim is lying until the find whatever they believe is enough evidence. Due to this backwards culture, victims are hesitant to report rape crimes to police. Some take days, some take years. This hesitation to report the crime can help the victim if their case goes to trial, as being hesitant shows credibility because it is such a difficult process to come forward. It also says they take time to consider what they are doing, where as a fake report would say it immediately in backlash to someone’s actions or to ruin a reputation.

The ethos of rape cases play a strong role, not just in being hesitant, but also in giving someone (or not giving) credibility in their case. When a case is unwavering, it is seen as credible, because the story hasn’t changed at all, and many of the girls in Missoula stated they went to the police because they didn’t want these assailants on the loose doing to other women what had happened to them. However, when alcohol comes into play, ethos takes a completely new direction. In this case, the disadvantage is on the woman, as people will use being drunk against her, stating, “she was too drunk she doesn’t remember what happened”; however, for men it becomes “he was too drunk to know what he was doing was wrong”. This victim blaming comes from gender roles and the fact that it’s okay for men to be drunk because “boys will be boys” or are a part of the “boys club”. However, when a woman is drunk, she instantly becomes a “partier” or someone who is trying to “sleep around”. When she wears anything less than a turtleneck and jeans she was suddenly “dressed provocatively” and was “asking for it”.

Rape culture in the United States has turned into finding a way to blame the victim, or to blame them of false claims without even looking into the case. Rape culture in the United States has turned into women asking for it because they decided to live their life. Women do not get raped because they had a few drinks or decided to go out in a dress. Victims get raped because rapists are rapists. Plain and simple.