Andrea’s Reviews > Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town > Status Update

Just as Allison is debating on whether or not to report her rape, she sees an article on an alleged gang rape by two members of the UM football team. This is a sign that Allison and Kelsey Belnap take to get justice. The rest of the chapter goes on to describe the details of Kelsey’s story. Later on in the chapter, Detective Baker gets evidence that Beau raped Allison. He is arrested and Allison receives backlash.

By this time, Allison has already made the choice to report her situation to the Missoula Police Department. The things that Allison goes through show how emotionally traumatic and difficult her life will be for a little while. Especially after enduring such physical violence.

At this point, Allison starts to show signs of distancing, by taking her classes online and refusing to accept that what happened has changed her. She is still hearing, even from states away, that what happened was consensual but she knows the real truth. It seems almost as if Allison is trying to forget the whole thing because she knows it might just be kind of “useless” to pursue, when it’s clearly not.