I may have this incorrect as I was out & just turned this on a little while ago, but isn’t Hughes just being asked questions in generalities, not specifically to Heard & Depp (although inferred)…hence the he & she?
Sky News
'Trauma bond'
Amber Heard's lawyer Elaine Bredehoft is now asking psychologist Dawn Hughes, an expert witness, how a victim of sexual assault by a partner might act.
"This is one of the myths," Dr Hughes tells the court, that a victim would leave. "Nothing could be further from the truth," she says. Victims "bury it" and try to reach out to the "kind and loving" person they entered the relationship with.
Heard is yet to give her testimony, but Ms Bredehoft told the court during her opening statement that the actress would tell the court she suffered sexual abuse.
What role does "love and normalcy" play in domestic violence in relationships? Ms Bredehoft asks.
In a "lull", the victim is back with the loving partner they wanted in the first place, Dr Hughes says.
Pairing a violent dynamic with the love and attachment creates a "trauma bond, a psychological bond", she says.
This makes it difficult for a victim to leave or even believe that she can and she should, she says.
Asked to describe "love bombing", she says this is showering someone with affection and love - sending flowers, buying gifts, going on trips - which gets people "hooked" on the kindness.
Excellent point!i wonder who will be the first person to mention/draw out the major part of IPV wherein the abuser separates their victims from their entire support system… the part which JD in fact did the opposite of, installing AH’s friends and family literally next door, allowing her to travel out of town with them on multiple occasions, and in some instances leaving them alone for uninterrupted weeks/months with Amber, as he goes out of town…
I don’t know if she ever interviewed JD, but found this you may be interested in.I am curious to see how JD team handles her on cross. If they are smart they can actually use much of her testimony to illustrate that many of these abusive behaviors she describes apply to AH. I had clients in the office briefly near the beginning of her testimony. Can anyone tell me if this woman ever interviewed JD or if she is relying solely on anecdotal information provided by AH and her team to reach her conclusions about THIS couple?
Question for any of those who followed the UK trial... Do you think overall public opinion was initially in JD's favor against The Sun BUT changed in favor of The Sun after AH's testimony? If so, was it her direct testimony and evidence that swayed the opinion, or something else??
I am curious to see how JD team handles her on cross. If they are smart they can actually use much of her testimony to illustrate that many of these abusive behaviors she describes apply to AH. I had clients in the office briefly near the beginning of her testimony. Can anyone tell me if this woman ever interviewed JD or if she is relying solely on anecdotal information provided by AH and her team to reach her conclusions about THIS couple?
Very biased...I see exactly where this is leading. JMOI don't like the way she keeps using "her" and "him", rather than "abuser" and "abused".
ETA: I think she's making a HUGE mistake.
My guess, from the expert witness' testimony so far, using women as the victim...that she might view all of AH's abuse (which JD claimed) as 'reactionary abuse'. Therefore, her abuse is excused....because she's the woman. Cross exam will be lit.
Sky News
Domestic violence victims are 'striving' to be normal all the time
Amber Heard's lawyer Elaine Bredhoft is asking psychologist Dawn Hughes lots of general questions about abuse and trauma - but nothing specific yet about Johnny Depp and Heard.
Ms Bredehoft moves on to common myths surrounding domestic violence, and Dr Hughes says she hopes she has helped dispel some of these during her testimony so far.
She says these could be that "women are weak" and "don't fight back", that they "like the violence", or "if it was really bad she really would have left" or "told the police".
Dr Hughes says there are also myths about how trauma survivors present after an incident.
"People think 'oh, they should be hysterical'," the psychologist says. She says this isn't typically the first reaction - which is actually usually "suppression, emotional numbing".
"Women who are beaten, they get up the next morning, they get their kids dressed, they get them to school, they go to work... they go on with life," she says.
They are "striving" to be normal all the time, Dr Hughes tells the court. Appearing "stoic" doesn't mean victims are not having an internal reaction, she says. "The inside doesn't match the outside."
The fear is that if they let out emotion, they open the floodgates, she continues.
Just because someone is "smiling and happy" it doesn't mean they are not suffering, Dr Hughes adds.
She then tells the court there is no "single profile" that fits all victims of domestic violence.
It just dawned on me during yesterday's coverage... the penthouses likely had an interior "shared" door. It's possible I'm slow to realizing this, or maybe I'm just wrong. Anyone know? TIA!