“Rape victims do not freeze during a rape, they fight back.”
This is an incredibly dangerous myth that is used to justify rape. According to studies, almost 50% of rape victims freeze during the assault. Each victim responds differently to an assault.
The New Hampshire Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence (NHCASDV) has cited a different statistic on freezing, saying that up to 50 percent of rape victims experience this type of paralysis. Other studies have shown that freezing is the response of 88 percent of rape victims. Regardless of the exact statistic, NHCASDV reports “New Hampshire laws recognize this reality and specifically provide that a victim is not required to physically resist an assault to show that she didn’t consent.”