When the rapist is not sorry for what he did, just sorry he got caught | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Friday
July 11, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
FRIDAY, JULY 11, 2025
When the rapist is not sorry for what he did, just sorry he got caught

Panorama

Lameena Chowdhury
25 June, 2021, 11:25 am
Last modified: 25 June, 2021, 02:35 pm

Related News

  • Akhtaruzzaman Ektu Cha Khete Chan: A man’s search for existential meaning and tea
  • Convicted rapist captured in Chattogram after 21 years on the run
  • Babel: What is the cost of a rebellion?
  • Crazy Like Us: How the West colonised our minds
  • Faridpur man gets life in prison for raping 8-year-old in 2022

When the rapist is not sorry for what he did, just sorry he got caught

So many people do not report their assaults because “often it seems easier to suffer rape alone than face the dismembering that comes with seeking support”

Lameena Chowdhury
25 June, 2021, 11:25 am
Last modified: 25 June, 2021, 02:35 pm

"You don't know me, but you've been inside me, and that's why we're here today."

She was known to the world as Emily 'unconscious intoxicated woman' Doe till she took back her name and narrative with her memoir, Know My Name. Today, we know her to be Chanel Miller. 

Chanel was digitally raped by Brock Turner in January of 2015. She had gone to a Stanford party with her sister, Tiffany and her friends and she woke up later on the street, clothes and hair dishevelled. Not fathoming what happened to her, she tried to go back to her life after the events, but she could not recognise the other woman that inhibited her body. We later find that Brock had been chased and stopped by two Swedes (graduate students) and that he was released on bail less than 24 hours after he raped her. 

"Do you understand, when you ask a victim to report, what you're telling her to walk into?"

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

Chanel brings attention to the aggravation and numbing agony she went through, along with everyone she loved. The book spans over several years, an indicator that her journey to justice is not quick but drawn out over long court sessions prone to postponing trials and appeals, cross-examinations and verdicts. 

Her road to recovery is also non-linear. Anyone who says it is only an uphill battle does not understand how crippling trauma and pain sneaks their way into regular activities. As such, her narration follows her thoughts and feelings. The book was not chronological, we jumped from one time to the other, but each time jump served a purpose to her story.  So I did not mind keeping up. 

At one point, Chanel tells us that so many people do not report their assaults because "often it seems easier to suffer rape alone than face the dismembering that comes with seeking support". After reading what she went through, I would agree. With what I see happening in Bangladesh and all over the world, I wholeheartedly agree. Every action of the victim is scrutinised if their charges see the face of a courtroom, something not common in Bangladesh because rapists here are rarely convicted, if at all. And this is where, Chanel notes, lies the problem. How everyone knows but still brushes it off as a 'normalised' part of the society. 

She writes at the very beginning that she will name Brock as himself as it did not matter if he was Brock, he could be Brad or someone else and it still would not matter because their individual significance was outweighed by a commonality: they were all part of a broken system. She mentions that we are quick to accept certain people as rapists and victims because of their appearance and the truth is, a modestly dressed girl can be a victim as much as a young bright, intelligent boy can be a rapist. She earnestly mentions how as a society, we need to recognise that everyone possesses the capability of doing evil deeds, no matter how good they were the rest of the time. A person is capable of both and that is a tantalising truth that she held onto throughout her story.

Rape statistics are higher than what is reported, and this is a common national secret in every country. Despite wanting to, Chanel did not back down from the case, she persevered and because she did, at the end of the case, hundreds of women came forward in solidarity and support. Many of them cited Chanel as an inspiration; she received national recognition; her victim impact statement was globally trending and eventually led to the state (California, USA) revising their laws regarding sexual assault. Despite all this, what she truly wanted from this case, she had not received. 

"My pain was never more valuable than his potential."

In her victim impact statement, Chanel wrote, "he didn't get it." She did not want to condemn him to death or take revenge, she wanted him to be remorseful and take accountability. Brock had not delivered upon that. The judge presiding over this case received a massive backlash after the sentencing that was considered 'lenient and biased'. 

Throughout the book, Chanel was very forthcoming about how she was victimised repeatedly, called slurs and harassed continually. Brock's DA was incessant with his leading questions that left her perturbed because everything boiled down to one thing in the end: she was a drunk college graduate at a frat party, and he was a young Stanford freshman athlete. 

Brock's father said that it was not right to ruin Brock's life (by the sentencing) because of 20 minutes of a mistake. This shows that he did not see the implications of what his son did. This shows how (Chanel's) trauma, both internal and mental, was not taken as serious or genuine. This suffering seems universal,despite the emergence of recent mental health concerns, we are yet to see concrete change in ensuring better care to those who require it. Additionally, she does not fail to mention that the father's apologist behaviour echoes the judgements of the masses, and that is where we fail to be human when we commiserate with the predator and toss aside the prey.

Chanel is unapologetic with her words and thoughts, and I commend her for that. She is a brilliant writer and in this book she describes everything with vivid imagery, so much so that I felt as though I suffered right beside her when justice was not delivered, cried with her when she could find a semblance of peace within her and smiled with her when the world came to see that she was a warrior. Her story is not for the faint-hearted. It is triggering and emotional, and I implore you to read it.  Because Chanel Miller turned her traumatising past into one where one could be hopeful for a better tomorrow. In the end, she prevailed. 

Features / Top News / Book Review

Rapist / Know My Name / Book Review / Chanel Miller

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • How tender rules and a lone bidder stall a $2.5b power plant
    How tender rules and a lone bidder stall a $2.5b power plant
  • Bangladesh and US hold tariff talks for second day on 9July 2025. Photo: CA Press Wing
    35% tariff: Bangladesh, US 'reach general consensus on some issues' on second day of talks; final round today
  • Photo shows the rescued wild birds. Photo: Courtesy
    50 birds, turtle rescued from illegal sale at Mirpur

MOST VIEWED

  • Photo: Mohammad Minhaj Uddin/TBS
    SSC, equivalent results: Pass rate drops to 68.45%, GPA-5 also declines
  • In terms of stream of education, girls maintained their excellence as well. Photo: TBS
    SSC 2025: Girls dominate boys by over 5%
  • Govt vehicle purchase, foreign trip, new building construction banned: Finance ministry
    Govt vehicle purchase, foreign trip, new building construction banned: Finance ministry
  • Students sit for SSC exam at Motijheel Girls' High School on 10 April 2025. Photo: Mehedi Hasan/TBS
    SSC exam results out: Here's how you can check online and via SMS
  • The overall pass rate across all boards this year, 68.45%, is significantly lower than last year's. Photo: Focus Bangla
    SSC 2025: Rajshahi board records highest pass rate, Barishal lowest
  • Representational image. Photo: Collected
    35% tariff: Bangladesh, US 'agree on most issues' as first day of talks ends

Related News

  • Akhtaruzzaman Ektu Cha Khete Chan: A man’s search for existential meaning and tea
  • Convicted rapist captured in Chattogram after 21 years on the run
  • Babel: What is the cost of a rebellion?
  • Crazy Like Us: How the West colonised our minds
  • Faridpur man gets life in prison for raping 8-year-old in 2022

Features

Photo: Collected/BBC

What Hitler’s tariff policy misfire can teach the modern world

18h | The Big Picture
Illustration: TBS

Behind closed doors: Why women in Bangladesh stay in abusive marriages

21h | Panorama
Purbachl’s 144-acre Sal forest is an essential part of the area’s biodiversity. Within it, 128 species of plants and 74 species of animals — many of them endangered — have been identified. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain/TBS

A forest saved: Inside the restoration of Purbachal's last Sal grove

21h | Panorama
Photo: Rajib Dhar/TBS

11 July 2024: Riot vehicles, water cannons hit the streets as police crack down on protesters

14h | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Israel ready to strike back if Iran threatens: Katz

Israel ready to strike back if Iran threatens: Katz

8m | TBS World
India is strengthening ties with Israel

India is strengthening ties with Israel

1h | TBS World
'Hypocrisy' will not continue, Iran tells IAEA

'Hypocrisy' will not continue, Iran tells IAEA

17h | TBS World
OpenAI to release web browser in challenge to Google Chrome

OpenAI to release web browser in challenge to Google Chrome

17h | TBS World
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net