Thread by @hashiba2

Lundy Bancroft, domestic violence expert & author of “Why does he do that?” has commented on the #DeppvsHeardTrial and on the use of psych evaluations against accusers like #AmberHeard.

A🧵:

As to the trial he says:
(1/7)

“There's just all these smoke screens going up […] 90% of this discussion has nothing to do with the allegations against him.

If we're just focused on […] what are the indications that he actually did what she's saying he did, well wow it's pretty pretty persuasive”. (2/7)

But, generally speaking, he explains that:

“The abuser is so good at muddying the waters and […] the court is also very good at allowing him to do that.”

One way abusers do this is by using psych evaluations, which can be incredibly problematic. (3/7)

Bancroft notes that “by and large an abused woman is going to test as having more emotional problems than an abuser” since “abusiveness is not primarily a mental health problem” and “so there is no diagnosis for the domestic abuser.” (4/7)

But while psych evals will not catch the abusiveness of the abuser “they will find ways to find things wrong with you [the abused person] partly just because you're so wounded by what he's done but partly because they want to find those things and they will.” (5/7)

In a circular fashion, diagnoses like HPD are then used to discredit accusers like #AmberHeard:

“How do you know she's got histrionic personality?Because she's making all these false allegations. How do you know that those allegations are false? Because she's histrionic.” (6/7)

Source:
Lundy Bancroft spoke on "The Divorce Survivial Guide Podcast with Kate Anthony".
(comments about the trial at 19:00 mark)
(7/7)