How Rape Affects Memory And The Brain, And Why More Police Need To Know About This

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Many survivors don’t report sexual assaults because they fear no one will believe them. Advocates say better training for police on the neuroscience of trauma could help survivors feel safe while talking with police, making it less likely they experience a secondary trauma.





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Neuroscientists and psychologists say it’s common for trauma survivors to have gaps in their immediate recall of a violent event, and for details to return weeks or months later. But if police officers don’t know the neuroscience behind trauma, they may assume a survivor is unreliable or lying. Experts say officers make that assumption more often with sexual assault than other crimes.





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Walker’s alleged perpetrator was never arrested. And she’s still frustrated with the way detectives put pressure on her to remember details during the investigation.

«I couldn’t explain why I couldn’t remember things that had happened, or why they were coming back to me the way that they did, she says.

When the brain switches into survival mode

When confronted with a crisis, the brain often activates its «fight, flight or freeze response. In these scenarios, the brain’s «defense circuitry takes over, explains Jim Hopper, the Harvard psychologist. The prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for logical decision making, is no longer in control, and instead the areas of the brain responsible for scanning for danger take charge.

«And that’s what people are running on when trauma happens, Hopper says.

In this state, some people respond by mentally «dissociating, or disconnecting from their physical selves.

«People may describe feeling like they were floating, or like they were in a movie, or a dream, Hopper says. Walker says she had an «out-of-body experience as she was being attacked.

«I felt paralyzed, she says. «I couldn’t even feel my limbs.

That survival response affects the ability to absorb what’s happening around them, Hopper says.

Studies on memory and recall during a traumatic event describe two types of details: central and peripheral. Central details are those that capture our attention and evoke emotions in the moment, such as a location where the attack took place. Peripheral details are those that a survivor might not have been paying attention to during the crisis, such as something the perpetrator says or whether other people were present. Central details tend to be stored more reliably and for longer than peripheral details.

Sometimes survivors are unable to answer what might seem like a simple question, if it involves a peripheral detail like the color of the attacker’s shirt. And Hopper says that can make officers suspicious.





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Many rape survivors who go to the police say their interactions with officers left them feeling blamed, dejected and angry. Some describe it as a «second rape. Advocates and policing experts say case outcomes can hinge on whether the officer believes the victim and treats them with respect during the process — and are pushing to establish practices that better address survivor trauma.





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There isn’t currently any research proving that law enforcement departments who take this training solve more rape cases. But victim advocates and scholars say it’s a best practice that could make working with police a more positive experience for victims, and, eventually, help bring more perpetrators to justice.

«If I had my way, every one of them would be doing this, says Dave Thomas, a program officer with the International Association of Chiefs of Police. «And that’s part of what we’re trying to instill in agencies to do. Any officer conducting in-depth victim interviews and suspect interrogations should receive more detailed training on conducting trauma -informed interviews and interrogations.

Annie Walker is still struggling to recover from her sexual assault, but it’s complicated because she’s also healing from the way law enforcement handled her case. She thinks both police officers and survivors need more education on the way trauma affects memory.

«I imagine there’s so many victims that truly feel and believe maybe they’re crazy, or if other people are like, ‘How come you didn’t remember that?’ They go, ‘Oh, yeah, I guess I should have remembered that,' Walker says.

She says if survivors knew what to expect in terms of memory issues, it wouldn’t be so frustrating. «They need to feel like the way that things are happening in their mind is normal. Normal for them.

This story comes from NPR’s health reporting partnership with CapRadio and Kaiser Health News (KHN).