What Science Says About Arousal During Rape

Rape. Most of us don't like to talk about it. We don't like to think about it. But when we do think about it, or at least when I do, it is always violent. I am struggling and overpowered. I am screaming. And I am certainly not getting off.

Although in the United States, where I live, rape survivors are now more common than smokers, I am not currently among the nearly 20% of women or 3% of men (or more) who are sexually assaulted in their lifetimes. I am not one of the 1 in 3 Native Americans who are raped. My mother has never felt the need to tell a doctor, as one Native American mother did, "I need to learn more about Plan B for when my daughter gets raped."

And my lack of first-hand experience might be why my narrow definition of rape was completely wrong.

Rape is not always violent. Some survivors surrender to protect themselves or their loved ones. Some are intoxicated, drugged, physically or mentally incapacitated, or in a position without power. Some (doubly horribly) are children. Rape does not always include penile penetration. Some rapists are married to their victims. Some rapists are women. Some women rape men. And sometimes, in the middle of an act that is always a violation, a rape survivor will experience increasingly intense physical sensations leading to climax – an orgasm.

Yes, it really happens.

Of those who report their rapes, around 4–5% also describe experiencing orgasm. But the true numbers are likely much higher. In a 2004 review paper, a clinician reports, "I (have) met quite a lot of victims (males) who had the full sexual response during sexual abuse…I (have) met several female victims of incest and rape who had lubrication and orgasm."

In February of this year, Reddit featured a child therapist in an 'I Am A' discussion to address orgasm during rape. She had previously participated in an 'ask me anything' (AMA) on the topic. It was so popular that she was invited to engage again. In the first post the therapist states,

"I've assisted more young women than I can count with this very issue…There have been very few studies on orgasm during rape, but the research so far shows numbers from 10% to over 50% having this experience. In my experience as a therapist, it has been somewhat less than half of the girls/women I've worked with. (For the record, I have worked with very few boys/men who reported this.) In professional discussions, colleagues report similar numbers."

And though most of the half-dozen or so therapists and sex educators I spoke with said that they believed the phenomenon was uncommon, all of them had heard from or heard of at least a few rape victims who experienced sexual arousal.

Read more at: https://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-05/science-arousal-during-rape