What effect did the lack of police and medical support have on the outcomes for the rape of Jenna Moore, and the death of Cameron Bright?

Sheer distance and isolation impacts the way crimes are responded to and investigated in the outback. What effect did the lack of police and medical support have on the outcomes for the rape of Jenna Moore, and the death of Cameron Bright? Do you think events would have played out differently in a larger town?

Limited resources in both areas allowed perpetrators of crimes to go unchecked by the usual methods. It's hard to say if the rape scenario would have played out differently as Jenna's situation had so many questions. But certainly Cameron's murder investigation would have generated a more thorough investigation in a larger town and yes, I think the outcome would have been different.

Rape in any country is not considered an important crime. Until men stop running the world, crimes against women will never end...not during war...not in any neighborhood...not during our lifetime...sad...

It was eye opening for me to read that in these current times, there were so many barriers to getting outside help quickly in this remote area of the outback. The police chief tells Nathan that is if there wasn't a crime committed when Cam died, they would not send anyone out. Medical help is also hard to get and often confined to radio contact only. Nathan struggles with getting a repair man out to fix his cold storage room. Going anywhere away from one's own property involves hours of driving through this inhospitable environment.

(This has a spoiler so don't read it if you haven't finished the book!) Because of the distance and time to respond to emergency's, Liz was able to put off calling for help after the accident so that enough time passed to prevent saving Carl. Jenna was checked by Steve at the clinic, but the results were inconclusive. The police investigated to some degree but it was Cameron's word against Jenna's. When Carl stepped in to threaten and intimidate Jenna, it was all over.

The assignment of one lawman to such a huge tract of land makes it next to impossible to have fair and adequate help in situations such as the deaths of Carl and Cameron and the rape of Jenna. So much of that land was owned/controlled by one individual - and his wealth was able to buy him protection when he needed it. Neither situation is reasonable or acceptable, but unfortunately, still a very real possibility in many parts of the world today.

It’s inconceivable to most of us in this country that law enforcement and medical help would either be unavailable or so far away as to be useless. But I don’t know that the outcome for Jenna would have been much different due to all the forces working against her. Cameron might have survived if he had lived in a ore populated area.

I think it impacts everything. The distance and time it takes to get to the crimes is so much that the decision to go even impacts outcomes.

For the designated area in question, the amount of support given was all that there was. The real impact may have been what happened in this small town with the cover-up (obviously carl somehow paid someone off) and the position of the then new clinic manager who didn't think he could buck the big shot Carl. The message that these actions passed on to Cam may have established a notion that he could get away with many of the same things that his father had done. Poor lesson learned...and even more that his family appeared with support or silence.

The effect is obvious, in my opinion. The lack of resources and the small town "good 'ol boy" attitude most definitely swayed the ones in authority to abandon both the rape and murder. Granted, the authorities did what they could, but with no checks and balances in the outback, the old saying - "it is what it is" - rules the day.

The lack of police and medical support had a huge impact on the outcomes of Jenna's rape and Cameron's death. There was only one inexperienced doctor in town when Jenna was assaulted, and he didn't know what to look for and what questions to ask of a young woman who had just experienced such trauma. A police response wasn't available for hours after Cameron's body was discovered. And even then it was a substitute because the regular officer who knew the family was out of town. They simply didn't have the resources to investigate what may or may not have been a suicide. If Cameron had been held accountable for rape at a young age, the rest of everyone's lives may have turned out incredibly differently.

The lack of police and medical support had a great effect on not only these events, but also affected many other areas of daily life. People knew that there could be no timely medical or police response, and that was often used to their advantage, such as the rape and the deaths of both Carl and Cameron. The fact that the families in the outback were so isolated and hours away from their nearest neighbors, they knew that the outcomes would be what they were. Speedy action and response, and even discovery, were impossible, making it possible for the crimes to occur.

I am so happy I do not live in the outback. There is no way there could be efficient law coverage out there. I do not know if it would have made much difference in Jenna's case. It is still a man's world and I am sure they would have taken Cameron's story. Our city just discovered 700 some rape kits that had never even
been tested. In Cameron's death, however, I am sure things would have clearer if there were police there immediately.