About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

8 DePaul J. Women Gender & L. 1 (2019)
Tonic Immobility: The Fear-Freeze Response as a Forgotten Factor in Sexual Assault Laws

handle is hein.journals/dpjwglaw8 and id is 41 raw text is: TONIC IMMOBILITY: THE FEAR-FREEZE RESPONSE AS A FORGOTTEN FACTOR IN SEXUAL ASSAULT LAWS Moriah Schiewe* Introduction It is 2019 and sexual assault is an epidemic. Social media, red carpet events, newspapers, magazines, and talk shows are all abuzz with stories of the silence breakers sharing their harrowing accounts of sexual harassment, exploitation, and violence.' However, in the courtroom, the conversation remains unchanged. Ninety-nine percent of perpetrators of sexual violence will walk free.2 Judges perpetuate gender stereotypes and unrealistic expectations of resistance by survivors of sexual assault. Reasoning in sexual assault cases centers around the presumed consent of silenced victims, which mirrors the predatory chants heard on Yale University's campus in 2011, that, when it comes to consent, No means yes.3 Originally, state laws defined rape as the carnal knowledge of a woman when achieved by force by a man other than her husband.4 Under the legal principle of coverture, a wife lived in submission to her husband's authority, so, a wife had no legal right to withhold sex from her 1 Stephanie Zacharek, et. al., Time Person of the Year 2017: The Silence Breakers, Time Magazine (December 18, 2017). http2://time.com/time-person-of-the-vear-20 17-silence-breakers/ * DePaul University College of Law, J.D. candidate2019; University of Idaho,B.A. 2015.1 dedicate this Note to the numerous sexual assault victims, heard and unheard, who have suffered in silence due to tonic immobility. I am one of you. 2 Alanna Vagianos, 30 Alarming Statistics That Show The Reality Of Sexual Violence In America, Huffington Post (April 5, 2017). https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entrv/sexual-assault-statistics us 58e24cl4e4b0c777f788d24f 3 John F. Decker and Peter G. Baroni, NO STILL AEANS YES: THE FAILURE OF THE NON-CONSENT REFORM MOVEMENT IN AMERICAN RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT LAW, 101 J. CRIM.L. & CRIMINOLOGY 1081 (Fall 2011). 4 Alanna Vagianos, 30 Alarming Statistics That Show The Reality Of Sexual Violence In America, Huffington Post (April 5, 2017). https://www.huffin2tonpost.com/entr/sexual-assault-statistics us 58e24cl4e4b0c777f788d24f 1

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most