Why do some people freeze when they are sexually assaulted? How to explain the memory lapses of rape victims? What makes them continue to maintain a connection with their attacker? An expert in sexual violence addressed the court on Monday to unravel these questions.
Posted at 7:19 p.m.
Professor in the department of psychoeducation and psychology at the University of Quebec in Outaouais (UQO) and recognized researcher in the field of sexual violence, Karine Baril almost did not deliver her testimony at the Montreal courthouse.
Gilbert Rozon’s lawyer, Me Pascal-Alexandre Pelletier, questioned the expertise of Mr.me Baril from the start of the hearing, claiming that she had studied psychoeducation rather than psychology. Judge Chantal Tremblay, who presided over the trial, ultimately ruled in favor of Ms.me Baril, allowing him to defend his expert report, co-written with sociologist Sandrine Ricci.
Karine Baril, who is part of several research teams, including the Interdisciplinary Research Center on Marital Problems and Sexual Assault (CRIPCAS), described in her report the reactions of victims of sexual assault.
“It is a traumatic event which is perceived as a threat to the physical and psychological integrity of a person,” she indicated from the outset, recalling that the majority of victims of sexual assault say “fear for their lives” in a proportion of 70%.
When the brain perceives a threat, the person has two choices: fight or flee. But in the majority of cases of sexual assault, there is an element of confusion which leads to a sort of paralysis, explained Karine Baril. “The person will completely freeze. »
“It’s a state of mental and physical paralysis,” she continued. The scientific literature speaks of Rape-induced paralysisa state of numbness which results in a form of anesthesia, an insensitivity to external stimuli. One of the plaintiffs said in her testimony that she no longer heard anything around her, that it was as if she had survived a bombing. It’s a bit like that. »
Karine Baril also spoke about the phenomenon of dissociation, another defense mechanism of the brain which she described as “the alteration of a person’s state of consciousness in order to make the intolerable tolerable”.
“For many victims of sexual assault, dissociation is a mechanism that is triggered to not feel pain during the assault, not to be in contact with what is happening or to distance themselves from an invading stressor,” they wrote the two researchers in their report. She also gave the example of a fuse that trips in the event of an overload.
This dissociation, combined with the influx of stress hormones into the brain, would be the cause of memory loss in victims of sexual assault, indicated Karine Baril. “They will have difficulty reporting the event in sequential order and remembering important details. »
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Karine Baril (left) and Sandrine Ricci co-wrote an expert report on sexual assault.
Professor Baril also spoke about the negative after-effects that the trauma of sexual assault can cause.
She addressed the issue of “avoidance”, that is to say “the cognitive suppression of everything that can remind us of the event”. “Some plaintiffs said they put it all in a drawer or put a lid on it. That’s what we’re talking about,” she said.
The feeling of guilt of victims of sexual assault, their negative perception of themselves, their state of hypervigilance or their self-destructive behavior were also discussed. People who have suffered sexual assault also have a greater risk of presenting symptoms of mental health disorders.
Finally, regarding the association with the attacker, Karine Baril recalled that most victims of a sexual nature were attacked by people in their close circle — family, colleague, employer, etc. “They may be trying to pretend nothing is happening because they want some normalcy, even if it’s avoidance. It’s a way for them to protect themselves. To avoid labeling yourself a victim. »
In his cross-examination, Mr.e Pelletier wanted to establish that Karine Baril had not evaluated the nine defendants and that she had not read their medical files or their statements to the police, which the professor never claimed. “It’s a report based on science,” the professor replied.
There has been a lot of talk about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which includes sexual assault. The defense argued that, according to some studies, the symptoms disappeared three months after the events.
Mme Baril responded that PTSD was progressive and that trauma reactivation was possible several years after the events. Whether by talking about the attack again, by seeing your attacker again, by reliving the events following a denunciation or during a trial.
Me Pelletier raised the following question: how do we decide what contributed to PTSD in a person who is a victim of assault but has a difficult life history? Or even a first attack in childhood, for example?
Testimony from sexual violence experts continues Tuesday.
