Book Review: Know My Name: A Memoir by Chanel Miller

Known to the world as Emily Doe, a victim of rape committed by Stanford student, Brock Turner. The night of the attack, Turner assaulted an unconscious woman, only to be caught in the act by two bystanders. More shocking than the circumstances of this case was the six-month sentence Turner received, only serving three months in the county jail. Despite the light sentence, Emily Doe's victim impact statement inspired changes in California's law and other victims to share their stories of sexual assault. We now know Emily Doe as Chanel Miller, and she shares her journey to reclaim her identity in Know My Name: A Memoir.

You may not have heard about her, but you have probably heard about her rapist, Brock Turner. The media labeled Brock as the “Stanford student” and the “Olympic swimmer” but failed to label him a rapist. Meanwhile, Chanel was labeled a partier, someone who drinks too much, and someone who should have known better. It was this criticism that caused Chanel to hide behind Emily Doe.

In January 2015, Chanel, her sister, and a few friends attended a party at Kappa Alpha at Stanford University. Chanel does not remember much about that night and only learned the details of her assault online. The article noted she had been found half-naked and unconscious next to a dumpster behind the Kappa Alpha fraternity. While unconscious, Brock Turner sexually assaulted her until two students discovered him in the act. The students held him until the police arrived.

Chapters 2 and 3 outline the reality of victim blaming within the criminal justice system. Chanel scrutinized comments from every article and found most were not criticizing the rapist, but the victim. Toxic comments affected her so deeply that she began to question her own perspective on the events of that night. While Chanel was battling with her self-worth and credibility in the media, Brock was portrayed positively. The media posted pictures of his swimming days, praised him for his athleticism, his participation in the 2012 London Olympics, and gave him glowing character reviews, despite criminal charges of rape and sexual assault.

Chanel chose to keep her identity a secret and thus began her double life as she tried to cope as both Chanel Miller and Emily Doe. While she found support among her loved ones, maintaining a double life proved difficult. She states, “How quickly victims must begin fighting, converting feelings to logic, navigating the legal system, the intrusion of strangers, the relentless judgement.”

Chapters 4 and 5 describe the trial and verdict. It is well-known that many victims of sexual assault do not come forward because of fear. However, Chanel believed she had a strong case, as her perpetrator was caught in the act by witnesses. Unfortunately, it was not enough. Meanwhile, many people sympathized with Brock, whose future was ruined by these allegations. Chanel knew about rape before her experience, but she goes on to say, “I didn't know that money could make the cell doors swing open. I didn't know that if a woman was drunk when the violence occurred, she wouldn't be taken seriously. I didn't know that if he was drunk when the violence occurred, people would offer him sympathy. I didn't know that my loss of memory would become his opportunity. I didn't know that being a victim was synonymous with not being believed.” Chanel's lack of memory allowed the defense to manipulate the narrative and fill in the gaps.

The entire experience re-traumatized Chanel, but on March 30, 2016, a 12-person jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict on all three charges of felony sexual assault. This was a victory not just for Chanel, but for all victims of sexual assault that the criminal justice system had failed in the past. Prosecutors recommended Brock receive a sentence of six years in prison. However, Judge Persky believed prison would be harmful to Brock's future and sentenced him to 6 months in county jail, followed by three years of probation, and a registered sex offender. In the end, Brock Turner only served three months of his six-month sentence. On September 2, 2016, he walked out of the county jail.

Despite the light sentence, Chanel vowed that she would never again allow her words to be silenced for someone else's benefit. She was given the opportunity to read a victim impact statement. She addressed Brock directly and told him “You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today.” Later, a reporter from Buzzfeed received permission from Chanel to publish it and it was released on June 3, 2016, at 4 p.m. Within 20 minutes, there were 15,000 views. Throughout the following week, over 15 million people read her statements, including politicians on the floor of Congress. Chanel realized that despite the isolation she felt during the trial, there had been people rooting for her the entire time.

Chapter 6 and beyond explores the concept of sexual assault being political, not personal. After the sentencing and the victim impact statement, the public was enraged. Stanford law professor, Michele Dauber, launched a campaign to recall Judge Persky due to his lenient sentencing in Chanel's case. To get the measure on the ballot, Dauber needed to collect at least 90,000 signatures. She successfully obtained over 95,000 signatures. On the ballot, approximately 62% voted to recall Judge Persky and justice had finally been served.

Chanel is not alone, and her story is like thousands of other victims. This book tells the story of a sexual assault survivor as she navigates the judicial system. In this book, Know My Name, Chanel uses her voice to fight for the rights of sexual assault survivors in a broken system. The author provides an important contribution to the literature as it explores the challenges sexual assault victims face when met with the complex nature of our criminal justice system. This book would work well as a supplemental reading for college students interested in victimization, and of interest to criminal justice and criminology scholars.