Judge Brett Kavanaugh just finished his opening remarks in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and I think my ears hurt. He came out with guns blazing, yelling at the microphone and shedding his oddly timed tears. With his confirmation to the Supreme Court at stake, Kavanaugh is feeling the heat and he’s big mad that he may be facing consequences.
I put myself through the torture of listening to his statement, and it was full of more shit than I expected. However, his defense had a pattern that abusers—especially sexual abusers—often use when facing accountability.
The tactic is DARVO, which stands for: Deny the behavior, Attack the individual doing the confronting, and Reverse the roles of Victim and Offender. It’s a term coined by Dr. Jennifer Freyd at the University of Oregon.
He rambled on for quite a while, so there are many examples to choose from, but I hope these examples give you the idea. Feel free to share additional examples in the comments. You can read his full prepared statement here—and what he actually said here.
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