Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town

pp. 253 - 255

In the most famous rape trial in the history of Missoula, Montana, David Lisak, widely regarded as one of the top people in the country on the subject of acquaintance rape, explained to the court that once a woman grasps that a man is even attempting to rape her, she may go numb, get terrified, feel helpless—and therefore not resist, fearing that she may be hurt worse, or even killed. Afterwards, the victim may blame herself, or try to tell herself that it didn’t actually happen, or just become terribly confused in some other way. Her world has just been turned upside down and she is overwhelmed.