The Influence of Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender and Insincere Apologies on Perceptions of Sexual Assault

Abstract

DARVO (deny, attack, reverse victim and offender) is a response exhibited by perpetrators to deflect blame and responsibility. When using DARVO, perpetrators deny their involvement in wrongdoing, attack their victims’ credibility, and argue that they are the real victims. The purpose of this study was to measure the influence of DARVO and another manipulative tactic—insincere perpetrator apologies—on observers’ judgments of a victim and perpetrator in a fictional sexual violence scenario. Perpetrator DARVO was experimentally manipulated via fictional vignettes to measure their impact on perceived perpetrator and victim abusiveness, responsibility, and believability. Data from 230 undergraduate students revealed that participants who were exposed to perpetrator DARVO rated the perpetrator as less abusive ([Formula: see text], 90% CI [0.04, 0.15]), less responsible for the sexual assault ([Formula: see text], [0.001, 0.06]), and more believable compared ([Formula: see text], [0.002, 0.07]) to participants who were exposed to a perpetrator who did not use DARVO. DARVO-exposed participants rated the victim as more abusive ([Formula: see text], [0.04, 0.14]) and less believable ([Formula: see text], [0.03, 0.14]), and also expressed less willingness to punish the perpetrator and greater willingness to punish the victim. Insincere apologies had minimal impact on ratings. By promoting distrust in victims and less punitive views of perpetrators, DARVO might contribute to rape-supporting outcomes such as victim blaming, greater victim distress, and low rates of rape reporting and perpetrator prosecution.