Most people who have never been victims of rape believe they would fight back if attacked. However, when listening to the accounts of those who have been raped, it becomes clear that this is not a simple matter.
According to the Independent, a new study from the Karolinska Institute and the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden, reveals that the majority of victims enter a state of generalized rigidity when being raped, which prevents them from resisting.
This phenomenon is referred to as “tonic immobility” – which can be understood as a “temporary muscle inhibition in response to sudden situations related to extreme fear.”
Many women become rigid and are unable to defend themselves when raped. (Illustration: Yana Mazurkevich).
This new finding could result in disadvantages for rape victims in court or when seeking medical attention. “Courts may dismiss rape charges if the victim did not resist. They may assume that a lack of resistance means the victim consented to the perpetrator’s actions,” stated Dr. Anna Möller, the lead researcher. In fact, there have been numerous legal cases where such reasoning has occurred. Even in Vietnam, there have been instances where rapists escaped conviction because the victims did not scream.
Dr. Möller believes that “tonic immobility” should be regularly assessed in all victims of sexual assault. Furthermore, researchers found that “tonic immobility” can lead to victims developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or severe depression.
Professor Möller and her team studied 298 women who had visited a clinic for rape victims in Stockholm. Among them, 70% reported experiencing rigidity during the incident, and 48% confirmed they became so rigid that they were immobilized. Six months after the attack, 189 women showed signs of PTSD and depression.
The researchers concluded that “tonic immobility” increases the risk of developing PTSD by 2.75 times and the risk of severe depression by 3.42 times. Additionally, they noted that this phenomenon is also related to previous mental health treatment measures.
