In the performance section of the slides, tonic immobility is talked about within the Cusp Catastrophe model. Tonic immobility is the freezing of behavior in dangerous situation and it is not talked about enough when a sexual assault happens. When sexual assault victims are asked “Why didn't you just fight back?” it is unfair and derogatory remark yet it is still a common question. The questions that follow when a response of “no” is given is unacceptable especially when scientists and psychologists alike know and understand how tonic immobility works. Not everyone’s reaction is going to be to fight, to scream, to escape. Some people just freeze up and later blame themselves for this involuntary action. To help aide sexual assault victims to understand and know that the assault was NOT their fault, tonic immobility needs to be more talked about. Below is an article that talks about how those who experience sexual assault may experience tonic immobility and how it affects them after the assault.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sexual-assault-may-trigger-involuntary-paralysis/
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I’m really glad to see a comment like this. I feel like most people aren’t educated on this topic but it’s something everyone should know. When I first read about tonic immobility the last thing I thought about was sexual assault, but it’s a great example. This was very informative.
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