This morning, I have an intriguing and enlightening story to share with you. Jen Percy, a distinguished writer for The Times Magazine, has dedicated months to investigating a commonly misunderstood aspect of rape – the reasons behind why victims often freeze rather than scream or fight back.
In Jen’s compelling narrative, she starts by presenting a series of examples, some well-known and some from her own research. A woman who experienced assault during a military training exercise said, “I froze.” Brooke Shields, the actor, described her rape by saying, “I just absolutely froze.” Lady Gaga, when recounting her assault at the age of 19, simply stated, “I just froze.” Natassia Malthe, a Norwegian actor, likened her experience to being “like a dead person.” Shockingly, a study conducted at a Boston hospital found that over one-third of rape victims reported experiencing some form of freezing, with extreme cases referred to as “tonic immobility.”
Researchers assert that this freezing response is an instinctive defense mechanism rooted in evolutionary behavior. There’s a well-known cliché, albeit dealing with a different kind of threat, that perfectly encapsulates this idea – “a deer in the headlights.” Jen writes:
“For more than a century, scientists have observed similar phenomena in animals, which have been given various names throughout the years – animal hypnosis, death feigning, playing dead, apparent death, and thanatosis, an ancient Greek term for ‘putting to death.’ Tonic immobility is a survival tactic found across a wide range of animal classes – insects, fish, reptiles, birds, mammals. Its evolutionary power lies in the fact that many predators instinctively lose interest in motionless prey. The trigger for this response is typically a perceived sense of inescapability or physical restraint, similar to the moment when prey realizes they are in the jaws of a predator.”
Amy Arnsten, a prominent neuroscientist from Yale, explains, “Under stress, your brain disconnects from its more recently developed circuits and strengthens many of the primal circuits. This allows ancient, unconscious reflexes to kick in.”
Despite the prevalence of freezing during sexual assaults, many people remain uninformed about this phenomenon. Instead of understanding the instinctive nature of freezing, friends may question why victims didn’t fight back or call for help. Medical professionals, including doctors and nurses, sometimes find themselves perplexed as well. Most alarmingly, police officers have historically treated reports of freezing as grounds to doubt the credibility of assault allegations. This harmful attitude is a significant factor contributing to the paltry number of reported rapes that result in criminal charges.
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