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Regardless of outcome, Depp vs Heard made life harder for abuse survivors

In February 2020, it took one leaked voice recording to turn the entire world against Amber Heard.

“Tell people it was a fair fight and see what the jury and the judge thinks, tell the world, Johnny. Tell them, I, Johnny Depp, I am a victim too of domestic violence. You know, it’s a fair fight and see how many people believe or sides with you.”

It’s a damning piece of evidence, one torn entirely from its context. That same recording was much longer than the initial minute-long leaked cut. We could hear Heard tearfully explaining how she had to cancel a public appearance due to the marks on her face, and that she doesn’t want to report Depp to the police because she doesn’t want to hurt him.

Depp and his team has been accused of running a smear campaign against Heard, and the mountain of disinformation that spread over the internet while the trial was ongoing adds weight to that accusation.

What’s more, everyone feels entitled to weigh in on this trial despite the limits of their research ending on Twitter threads, their Tiktok FYP, and YouTubers.

The support for Depp is fanatical, to say the least, and those who rallied behind him have the fervor for avoiding the full conversation similar to that of red-green presidential supporters.

Apathetic observers are quick to call out mutual abuse, as stated by Depp and Heard’s marriage counselor. 

However, the term is proven to be a myth, often used to discredit victims and lessen the severity of the violence they experience. Sarah Davidge, the head of research and evaluation at Women’s Aid, points out that accusing someone of mutual abuse is a common way for abusers to silence survivors.

Ruth Glenn, president and CEO of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, stated to NBC that there must always be a ‘primary aggressor’ during abuse encounters. 

This means that when an abuse victim retaliates against their abuser, it is always done in reaction to the abuse they’ve experienced. To state that Heard and Depp were mutually toxic is minimizing the severity of the abuser.

Despite the many intricacies of domestic violence, many continued to view this trial as a source of entertainment for them. 

From behind their phones and screens, they’ve suddenly become armchair authorities on what counts as abuse or not, even if they’ve never so much as cared about victim-survivors in the past. 

Tiktok edits and reaction memes merely sensationalized the matter.

@dbratzworld479

#go go Johnny Depp team #forthewin #💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

♬ Epic – Joystock

Depp vs. Heard isn’t a clear-cut case. With both sides having their own inconsistencies to their stories, and with how our own perceptions as bystanders is severely limited, we might never have a full understanding of what happened.

What we should know is that it’s more dangerous now than ever for women to speak up. Marilyn Manson is filing a libel case against Evan Rachel Wood, who amongst countless others had accused Manson of horrific abuse allegations in the past few decades. Brad Pitt fans are calling for the actor to sue ex-wife Angelina Jolie for insinuating that he’s a bad father.

In November 2020, it was ruled by the UK court that 12 out of 14 alleged incidents of domestic abuse Amber Heard had suffered under Johnny Depp are substantially true. 

Compared to the round of celebration Depp is currently experiencing from the recent defamation trial, all Heard was met with was further accusations of being a gold digger.  

Regardless of who is actually in the right, the gender disparity in how we treated either side is seen.

For Heard, we all channeled the energy of Sherlock Holmes and became experts overnight on body language. We dissected every twitch of her mouth. We spat on her face for not crying convincingly enough.

There’s now legal precedent to sue women coming forward about the abuse they’ve experienced even if they hadn’t mentioned any names.

Victim-survivors of domestic and sexual abuse are now pressured more than ever to become the perfect victims— from the way they speak, down to the discoloration of their bruises.

Why didn’t you call the police? Why did you call the police?

Why did you cover up your wounds? Why are you showing your wounds, if not for attention?

Why didn’t you fight back? If you did fight back, you’re now an abuser yourself.

All of us lost when women now fear being called the next Amber Heard by a bunch of incels if they were to come forward about their abuse. What all the memes and ridicule we perpetuated has done is to disenfranchise women further from pursuing legal action, and delegitimize their ability to speak up.

At the end of the day, we must continue to believe survivors.

No matter if they stayed or escaped. No matter if they spoke up now or later.

Because they lose everything the moment they decide to come forward.

It is a long way from the ideal reality where abusers are rightfully charged for their crimes, and those abused would be able to fearlessly come forward about their experiences without being subject to public humiliation.

Believing in survivors and speaking up on their behalf is the first, but meaningful, step towards that.

The post <b> Regardless of outcome, Depp vs Heard made life harder for abuse survivors </b> appeared first on WE THE PVBLIC.


Source: we the pvblic

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