Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender—so how do you know who is the abuser and who is the victim?
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard—are either of them perpetuating DARVO tactics? Experts can’t seem to agree but now a sociologist has explained how as spectators of the trial, we can hold „damaging, victim-blaming beliefs we aren’t aware of.“
DARVO stands for Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender. Dr. Nicole Bedera, a sociologist who studies sexual violence, has shed some light on why it is confusing to assess who the victim or the perpetrator is in certain circumstances.
„A DARVO response can be confusing. And it’s meant to be“, she tweeted in a lengthy Twitter thread. „To avoid accountability, a perpetrator is trying to make it harder for us to tell who the real victim is.“
Depp 58, sued his ex-wife Heard for defamation over an op-ed published by The in 2018, in which she said she was a victim of domestic abuse. While Heard didn’t name her ex-husband in the piece, his legal team has argued it was obvious she was referring to him.
