Hello, today I am going to discuss experiencing arousal or orgasm during a sexual assault. Black and all (2011) estimate that one in five women, will be or has been raped in her lifetime, and one in two will be or have been a victim of sexual assault. Levin and Berlo (2003) have further estimated that 4 to 5% of women experience arousal or orgasm during an assault. This response although natural, seems to equate to consent within many societies, and that is not true. However, this myth may prevent victims from reporting crimes that are sexual in nature and may create confusion for the victim. Therefore, I would like to discuss the concept of experiencing arousal or orgasm during a sexual assault.
There are two branches of the central nervous system, the parasympathetic and sympathetic systems. The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for restful activities such as digesting food, urination, and defecation. Whereas the sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the fight-flight response, and sexual arousal. The fight-flight response is triggered by a stressful or life threatening situation in which action is required in order to maintain physical safety. The response sets off a cascade of hormones and physiological changes such as increased heart-rate enabling blood to move to muscles and other organs faster. Airways in the lungs open to allow for more oxygen to be consumed and additional oxygen is sent to the brain to allow for an increased rate of alertness through the five senses. Epinephrine is released allowing for stored energy to be available and norepinephrine temporarily numbs pain allowing you to fight or flee the threat (Harvard Health Publishing, 2018).
As you can see, the fight or flight response is complex and several areas of the brain and hormones are active both during intercourse and the fight-flight response. Including the hypothalamus, amygdala, cortisol, and a few others I was not able to go over in this video such as oxytocin (Lischke et al., 2012).
If you feel that you have been a victim of a sexual assault, help is available.

Black, M.C., Basile, K.C., Breiding, M.J., Smith, S.G., Walters, M.L., Merrick, M.T., Chen,
J., & Stevens, M.R. (2011). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence
Survey (NISVS): 2010 Summary Report. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury
Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved
from [ Ссылка ]

Carlson, N. R., & Birkett, M. A. (2017). Physiology of behavior. Harlow: Pearson.

Empowering Education. (2018). Retrieved from [ Ссылка ]

Harvard Health Publishing. (2018). Understanding the stress response. Retrieved from [ Ссылка ]

Levin, R. J., & Berlo, W. (2004). Sexual arousal and orgasm in subjects who experience forced or non-consensual sexual stimulation – a review. Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine, 11, 82-88. doi:10.1016/j.jcfm.2003.10.008

Lischke, A., Gamer, M., Berger, C., Grossmann, A., Hauenstein, K., Heinrichs, M., …
Domes, G. (2012). Oxytocin increases amygdala reactivity to threatening scenes in females. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 37, 1431-1438. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen. 2012.01.011

свернуть