What is DARVO? Why Learning More Could Lead to a Safer Church
When faith leaders or others are accused of sexual assault, they may respond with a set of tactics known as DARVO to make victims seem less believable and create confusion, allowing the perpetrator to escape accountability. But researchers have found that educating people about DARVO makes this harmful strategy less effective.
SO What Does it Mean?
DARVO is an acronym that stands for “deny, attack, reverse victim and offender.” This phenomenon was first identified in 1997 by psychologist Jennifer Freyd, professor emerit of the University of Oregon in Eugene. She has explained that when accused, a perpetrator will deny, sometimes vehemently, that they did anything wrong and then attack the credibility of their accuser. They may suggest, for example, that the accuser has psychological problems, a faulty memory, or is making the accusation for financial gain. In the final step, “reverse victim and offender,” the perpetrator will claim that they are actually the one who has been victimized, harmed by the false accusation.
Jennifer Freyd, PhD
Freyd is known for her work on “betrayal trauma,” which occurs “when a person or organization you trust, depend on, or are very close to, mistreats you in a major way,” she told Awake in a 2020 interview. Freyd is founder of the Center for Institutional Courage in Palo Alto, California. We previously interviewed her about the concept of “institutional courage” and how it can counter betrayal trauma in institutions including the Catholic Church.
DOES DARVO WORK?
In podcast interviews, Freyd has explained that she first began to develop the DARVO model while listening to the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas hearings in 1991. Many years later she worked with graduate students to gather data on these tactics. Their studies show that DARVO is a common response by perpetrators when they are confronted, and that the strategy is unfortunately highly effective in casting doubt on and silencing accusers.
In one experiment, the researchers asked people to read stories about cases of intimate partner violence, which included statements by the perpetrators. Some of the statements used DARVO tactics, but in other statements the perpetrator took responsibility for the violent acts and expressed remorse. The researchers found that when people read stories in which perpetrators defended themselves with DARVO techniques, the readers were typically convinced by the perpetrators, less likely to believe the abuse victims, and more likely to blame the victims.
CAN INSTITUTIONS COMMIT DARVO?
Yes, it’s not just limited to individual perpetrators. Freyd describes “institutional DARVO” as “a pernicious form of institutional betrayal.” She offers the disturbing example of police departments charging rape victims with lying. She adds that organizations may also wield DARVO against whistleblowers who call attention to harm in that organization.
How Does DARVO Affect Victims?
DARVO adds to the pain experienced by abuse victims. In one study, Freyd and her coauthors found that the more DARVO an accuser encountered when they confronted their abuser, the more self-blame the accuser experienced. And previous studies showed that self-blame among victim-survivors is linked to more psychological distress and silence after abuse.
How Can We CounterAct DARVO?
One source of hope: learning about DARVO—and sharing this information with others—may reduce the power of these techniques. In their 2020 study, Freyd and her colleagues found that when people were educated about DARVO, they were less likely to believe the claims made by perpetrators of abuse. They also saw victims as more believable and as less abusive to the people they accused. “By identifying and calling out DARVO when it occurs,” Freyd and her coauthor wrote, “we may be able to effectively interrupt perpetrators’ attempts to discredit and silence their victims.”
All this suggests that when we hear about abuse allegations in the Catholic Church or elsewhere, it’s important to be alert for signs of DARVO tactics.
—Erin O’Donnell, Editor
