When Not Saying NO Does Not Mean Yes: Psychophysiological Factors Involved in Date Rape

To understand how a woman who does not want to be a willing sexual partner can at times acquiesce and not fight the date rape predator, the neurobiology of our responses to threat needs to be understood. Under situations of extreme threat, instead of responding just to danger signals with only the options to fight or flee, we also retain in our nervous system a primitive immobilization response that may reflexively be expressed when our body detects life threat. This primitive defense system is shared not only with other mammals, but also with reptiles, such as the turtle, that immobilize as a primary defensive strategy. The brain makes the decision without awareness, and the relative risks of stimuli are interpreted to be safe, dangerous, or life threatening. The polyvagal theory proposed by Stephen Porges may explain why many rape victims do not actively resist. According to the theory, the act of not responding is an immobilization fear response to life threat, which may be wrongly interpreted by the aggressor as a passive acquiescence. The woman's thoughts, intentions, and feelings are irrelevant—her body shuts down in preparation for severe injury and death. This misunderstanding may be exacerbated if judgment is clouded by alcohol. This discussion of the polyvagal theory supports the recently passed California law (Senate Bill 967) that requires the governing boards of California postsecondary institutions (colleges and universities) to adopt procedures and protocols requiring students to obtain “affirmative, unambiguous, and conscious decision by each participant to engage in mutually agreed-upon sexual activity.”