Blame eve
Blame mothers
. Rape can, and frequently does, involve restraint and fear-producing stimuli such as weapons or violent threats. Ratner (1967) has suggested that tonic immobility may be an evolved defence mechanism to predation, and rape has been described as a predatory act (Selkin 1975).
Burgess and Holmstrom (1976) report 37 per cent of a sample of
rape survivors indicated they felt paralysed and unable to move. At the very least,
given our current knowledge of immobility during assault, all those involved in rape should
be more aware that immobility does occur in women. It should be stressed that immobility
may be involuntary paralysis, not a sign of the woman choosing not to resist or as an
indication of consent on her part.