"I just became like a log of wood … I was paralyzed all over my body": women's lived experiences of tonic immobility following rape

Abstract

Tonic immobility is considered the last involuntary self-protecting act/mechanism experienced by victims of rape when they are under attack. It is associated with trauma related mental health risks post-rape. Despite this, tonic immobility has not received priority as an area of research on Nigerian female victims of rape. As a result, little has been known about this phenomenon by nurses and other professionals who are involved in the care and management of rape survivors in Nigeria. The limited knowledge about tonic immobility as a phenomenon might have resulted in mismanagement and secondary victimization of rape victims experiencing manifestations suggestive of tonic immobility during or after rape. This study was a qualitative narrative inquiry that explored, analysed, and interpreted the lived experiences suggestive of tonic immobility, and the meaning attached to such experiences by victims. A sample of fourteen Nigerian women who self-identified as rape victims was utilized. Individual semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted to generate data. Thematic data analysis revealed four overarching themes: namely (i) Tonic immobility as an Altered Physical State, (ii) Tonic Immobility as Mental Paralysis, (iii) Painful Loss of Self-defence, and (iv) Constant Self-blame. The findings provided an insight into the traumatic experience of raped women and the psychological implication of tonic immobility as extreme defence mechanism. This study will prove invaluable to nurses and other professionals/stakeholders involved in the care and management of rape victims; to help them develop and use appropriate strategies for management and prevention of secondary victimisation.

Peri-Traumatic Dissociation and Tonic Immobility as Severity Predictors of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder After Rape

“…Research findings suggest that women experience higher levels of TI and PTD during sexual assault compared to other traumatic events (Christiansen & Hansen, 2015;Gbahabo & Duma, 2021;Kalaf et al, 2015). PTD is thought to influence the development and persistence of PTSD by preventing the initial processing of the traumatic event and disrupting elaboration during memory encoding (Bedard-Gilligan & Zoellner, 2012).…”

The Reality of Tonic Immobility in Victims of Sexual Violence: “I was Paralyzed, I Couldn’t Move”

“…All research has been quantitative, except for the studies by Gbahabo and Duma (2021) and TeBockhorst et al (2015), who conducted a qualitative analysis of the accounts of 14 and 7 women victims of rape, respectively.…”

“…The study of TI is of great relevance because it has been considered to be present in most rape experiences (Gbahabo & Duma, 2021; Hagenaars, 2016; Heidt et al, 2005). Also, insight into how TI affects victims can have an impact on the legal recognition of TI and a victim’s recovery.…”

“…Finally, victims of sexual violence have been found to experience higher levels of guilt than survivors of any other traumatic event (Moor & Farchi, 2011), have more difficulty recovering, and are at greater risk of revictimization (Breitenbecher, 2006). Self-blame occurs particularly among those who experience TI (Gbahabo & Duma, 2021; Heidt et al, 2005; Magalhaes et al, 2021), as they take responsibility for not having done more to prevent or avoid the attack.…”

The relationship between attribution of blame and the perception of resistance in relation to victims of sexual violence

“…Further research could confirm whether certain messages (e.g., accepting an invitation to go home with someone) are perceived by men and women differently. It could also be investigated whether the lack of resistance corresponds to the so-called tonic immobility ( Gbahabo and Duma, 2021 ), which explains this lack of reaction in the victim.…”