The lack of reaction during a rape would have a neurological explanation, according to a scientific article

Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credits: Pixabay 18:43 pm, May 22, 2023

The lack of reaction or immobility during rape or sexual assault is certainly unintentional and could be explained by the blockage of brain circuits in response to an acute threat, according to a paper published Monday in the journal Nature. For the authors, Ebani Dhawan and Patrick Haggard, researchers at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience (University College London), understanding the neuroscientific mechanisms underlying this phenomenon would prevent victims from being unfairly blamed for their lack of reaction. Legal definitions of rape and sexual assault are based on lack of consent. But proving consent or lack of consent is difficult, they recall.

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Victims frozen in response to aggression

Victims of rape and sexual assault often describe that they "froze" in response to the assault and therefore could not act, but neuroscientific evidence in this area is limited, the authors continue. They argue that immobility in response to an extreme threat is likely unintentional. They explain it by a known response of the brain to a threat: in front of the aggressor, the brain circuits that ensure the voluntary control of body movements are blocked. According to them, immediate and serious threats can thus unintentionally trigger a state of immobility in humans, as in some other animals.

"A tonic stillness"

They recall that 70% of women who went to the emergency room after a rape or sexual assault recognized a "tonic immobility" during the act, while describing a strong desire to escape but an inability to do so. This reaction remains a scientific hypothesis, the authors acknowledge, since their argument is based on testimonies of victims and studies of defense circuits in animals, which are common to humans.