Questions Answered About Victims Stemming From Depp v Heard Trial

There is absolutely no doubt that Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are an unlikely duo that has caused quite the distraction for the government. Which, I am assuming, the government is glad to have the focus off of them. I'm sure Brandon is glad to have the focus off of him for the time being.

However, Mr. Depp and Ms. Heard have brought to light a very sensitive issue, that has people bursting at the seams. Some very deeply rooted questions have been posed, and mocked recently. I am going to do my best to answer these questions. As a lifelong survivor of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, it has apparently become my life's mission to hold people accountable. Not sure I really asked for this, but I started speaking up about my own abuse, and it has reached upwards of 78 Million people now. It has taken on a life of it's own, and I am just glad that it can have a positive impact on others learning how to voice their own abuse.

What Percentage of Victims Actually Report?

According to a survey conducted in 2019, only roughly 52% of victims report their abuse (USA Facts, 2021). This article was further updated through the years to reflect that since then the rates of victims reporting their abuse have continued to go down.

Just within the Department of Defense, a mere 5% of sexual assault cases that were reported led to a conviction (Darehshori & Rhoad, 2014).

A study conducted in 2020 states that 52% of victims who had reported their crimes, has since dropped to 25% of victims that report their abuse or assault anymore (Dordulian Law Group, 2020).

Why Don't Victims Report?

Well, first, why would a victim want to report? Out of every 1,000 Sexual Assaults committed in the United States only 310 are reported to police, and out of those 310 abuse cases only 50 reports lead to an arrest (RAINN, 2022). Out of that pitiful number of 50 cases leading to an arrest, only 28 will lead to a conviction and only 25 will be incarcerated (RAINN, 2022).

So, what does that mean? A victim reports their abuse - their sexual assault or their domestic violence, and then what? They are just left to fend for themselves now that they pissed off their abuser?

THAT IS TERRIFYING. No thank you.

I, myself, as a survivor of both Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault have not reported all situations. In fact, in my book 'Black December' there will be instances of abuse that I have never reported before. Why talk about it now, you might ask? Because I'm tired, and I know damn well that me speaking up about my abuse in Alaska could very well get me killed. The Trooper who raped me essentially called a hit out on me by calling my abusive ex-husband and notifying him of my location, and he received no reprimand whatsoever for doing so.

For some victims, they experience non-stop retaliation after reporting Sexual Harassment - in fact 72% of victims who report their Sexual Harassment experience retaliation after reporting (Time's Up, 2020). And upwards of 12% of Sexual Assault victims that do actually report (12% out of the 25% that report) will experience retaliation following their report (Darehshori & Rhoad, 2014).

Victims face retaliation in many forms... fear of being assaulted again, and fear of being demoted, fired, or denied promotions if it occurred within a workplace setting or between co-workers (Dordulian Law Group, 2020).

Additionally, it is reported that 62% of victims who had experienced Sexual Assault and had gone through with reporting the crimes done to them were retaliated against (Dordulian Law Group, 2020).

Victims are trained to believe that they could have prevented the abuse.

Whether this training was done socially, by family or friends, or it was just "common knowledge", victims are trained to be ashamed of their abuse before it ever even occurs. Society mocks how women dress, or how sensitive men can be, and they do not take into account that regardless of how flirty a victim acts beforehand, or regardless of what they are wearing... abuse and assault is abuse and assault (Dordulian Law Group, 2020).

Too often than not, when the abuse or assault is reported, nothing is done about it. One way or another, the investigating law enforcement agency will do NOTHING (Dordulian Law Group, 2020). This is even more true when one of their own officers are reported for wrong doing. Multiple studies have found that approximately 40% of all law enforcement officers in the United States are abusers (Friedsersdorf, 2014) this is an off the charts number for the other abuse statistics. Friedserdorf in a 2014 article goes on to explain that cops will "typically handle cases of police family violence informally, often without an official report, investigation, or even check of the victim's safety," ... "this 'informal' method is often in direct contradiction to legislative mandates and departmental policies," regarding the appropriate responses to domestic violence and sexual assault crimes, and the study even further expands to state that even officers who are found guilty of such crimes would never actually be fired or arrested!

HOW HORRENDOUS.

This can also be proven with my very own case, and how the Alaska State Troopers have denied me access to my very own police investigation report, and in fact did not even supply it to the Federal EEOC as evidence. Instead, they stated by releasing the record (which I am doubting even exists now) would cause "public hostility to law enforcement", "would cause future victims to not want to report," and "would cause witness of crimes to not want to cooperate with investigations."

Additionally, some victims will also believe that their assault or their abuse was not important enough to report (Dordulian Law Group, 2020). In a study published in NPR it states that only 20% of college students reported their sexual assault, and nearly 12% of these survivors thought that the incident was "not important enough to report," (Sullivan, 2014).

Other reasons why victims would not want to report are that they believe that the police would not do anything, they did not want to get the abuser in trouble with the law, they did not want friends or family to know, they fear the justice system (i.e., they fear that their abuser would be believed over them), they don't even believe that the crime was severe enough or that there is a lack of evidence and so people would not believe them if they did report, and they feel as if too much time has passed (Dordulian Law Group, 2020).

Realistically, there is absolutely nothing that can be done about victims that choose to not report. Victims that have experienced a multitude of abuse from their abuser, or past abusers, will be conditioned and manipulated into believing that no one would ever believe them if they did speak up. Also, a lot of times it just takes survivors time to come to terms with what happened to them, and they may simply not be ready to talk about what happened to them. Forcing victims to report a crime by reporting for them, does the victim no good even when you think it does. It doesn't, and it could in fact get you or the victim killed.

Where we can improve, is when a victim does report... roll out the red carpet. Let them feel seen, and heard. Make them feel important, even if you have 28 other cases on your plate, MAKE THEM YOUR PRIORITY. And if a victim reports with no criminal action taken for lack of evidence or so forth, ensure that they are not treated any different than they were previously. This is easier said than done though. Victims will be on high alert to anything that feels off. So, if you're not being genuine, or your avoid contact with them them on purpose, or overly ask if they are okay, they will still pick up on the lack of effort, or the overly ingenuine effort that you are doing on purpose.

Why Would a Victim of Abuse Not Just Leave Their Abusive Partner?

It is known amongst survivors, but not as well known amongst the general population as it should be, that survivors are at an all time high for risk of death when they leave or attempt to leave (NCADV, 2022). In a study done recently it was found that 20% of homicide victims within the group of intimate partner homicides, were not victims themselves, but actually the people that intervened (Smith, Fowler & Niolon, 2014). Yes, that's correct. Not only is it not safe for victims to leave, but it is not safe for other individuals to interfere. This study included family members, friends, neighbors, law enforcement officers, and bystanders. That is how incredibly unsafe it is for a victim to leave. Even people helping them leave have a 20% chance of being killed by the abuser themselves.

In case that did not make you understand well enough, here are some more facts:

(1) Fear of how the abuser will react

(2) Unsupportive friends and family

(3) Fear of the struggles of being a single parents

(4) Feeling that the relationship was not "only bad" and it had some good in it

(5) Victim's lack of knowledge to resources

(6) Fear of what will happen to the children in custody, or their kids safety

(7) Nowhere to go / homelessness

(8) Religious or cultural beliefs may not support divorce

(9) Belief that a two parent household is better than one, even with divorce

(10) Lack of support by law enforcement officers (victims are often arrested and charged with crimes for simply protecting themselves)

(11) Reluctance by prosecutors to prosecute cases

(12) Being denied a restraining order, or having the abuser violate the restraining order

(13) And even more (NCADV, 2022).

What Percentage of Victims are Male or Female?

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (2022) 1 in 4 women will experience severe intimate partner violence, and 1 in 9 men will experience severe intimate partner violence. 1 in 3 women have been injured or hurt by an intimate partner throughout the abuse, and 1 in 7 men have (NCADV, 2022).

In Conclusion... I hope this helps answer your questions about abuse, or encourages you to seek further clarification. Typically only when a survivor is pushed into reporting, tired of dealing with it, wants to prevent further crimes from occurring to them or others, they need to recover property, or simply want to because the event was a crime will be when they speak up (Iresearchnet, 2022).

Resources:

Darehshori, S., & Rhoad, M. 2014. Retaliation Against Sexual Assault Survivors in the US Military. Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/05/18/embattled/retaliation-against-sexual-assault-survivors-us-military

Dordulian Law Group. 2020. Top 10 Reasons People Do Not Report Sexual Abuse. Dordulian Law Group. https://www.dlawgroup.com/reasons-people-do-not-report-sexual-abuse/

Friedersdorf, C. 2014. Police Have a Much Bigger Domestic-Abuse Problem Than the NFL Does. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/09/police-officers-who-hit-their-wives-or-girlfriends/380329/

Irsearchnet. 2022. Reporting Crimes and Victimization. Irsearchnet. http://psychology.iresearchnet.com/forensic-psychology/victimization/reporting-crimes-and-victimization/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20National%20Crime,further%20crimes%20by%20the%20offender

NCADV. 2022. Why Do Victims Stay. NCADV. https://ncadv.org/why-do-victims-stay

Smith, S. G., Fowler, K. A., & Niolon, P. H. 2014. Intimate Partner Homicide and Corollary Victims in 16 States: National Violent Death Reporting System, 2003-2009. https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301582

Sullivan, L. 2014. Study: Just 20 Percent of Female Campus Sexual Assault Victims Go To Police. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/12/11/370093706/study-just-20-percent-of-female-campus-sexual-assault-victims-go-to-police

Time's Up. 2020. Seventy-Two Percent of Workers Who Experienced Sex Harassment Faced Retaliation, Says a New Report by NWLC Based on Time's Up Legal Defense Fund Data. Time's Up. https://timesupfoundation.org/newsroom/seventy-two-percent-of-workers-who-experienced-sex-harassment-faced-retaliation-says-new-report-by-nwlc-based-on-times-up-legal-defense-fund-data/

RAINN. 2022. The Criminal Justice System: Statistics. RAINN. https://www.rainn.org/statistics/criminal-justice-system