Beyond the ordinary

What is DARVO?

DARVO is a common form of abuse that stands for Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender.  This is a dangerous tactic used by abusers to avoid responsibility for their actions, confuse the issues in question, and attack a survivor's credibility.

The term DARVO was originally coined by Jennifer Freyd in 1997 through her research on betrayal trauma. This form of coercive control is devastating for  survivors of domestic violence - not only because of the toll it takes on them, but because of the lack of accountability assigned to abusers.

Unfortunately, most survivors on the receiving end of DARVO do not recognize what is happening until it is too late, which is why it is so important to shed light on this type of gaslighting.  DARVO is extremely dangerous for survivors because it truly makes them doubt their own reality.  With DARVO tactics, the perpetrator engages in DARVO  in order to discredit a survivor in front of a judge and has also been used by legal teams to attack survivors in an effort to win cases for the perpetrators. 

DARVO

Is an acronym for Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender.  It describes a pattern of manipulation used by abusers to deflect blame for their actions by denying wrongdoing, attacking the victim's credibility, and portraying themselves as the victim.  This tactic is used to avoid responsibility and gaslight the victim into doubting their own reality.

The Stages of DARVO

-Deny:  The abuser denies that their harmful behavior occurred. They may say the victim is "too sensitive" or "making things up".

Attack:   The abuser attacks the victim's character, credibility, and sanity to discredit them and shift the focus.

Reverse Victim and Offender: The abuser turns the situation around, making victim appear as the abuser and positioning themselves as the  victim to gain sympathy and shift blame.