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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It isn't uncommon for people to only give a few details at a time. This is true for people who are victims of sexual violence or domestic violence. They might even deny it happened or is happening. Often they will only want to share a little - they may see how people react or respond and if they feel safe and ready to add more. This can make it seem like they are lying or changing their story but it is very common to only share some details.

I have worked with women who have experienced trauma and they have denied x or y happened only to tell me years later that actually x and y did happen but they felt too ashamed or too scared or they just weren't ready to tell those details then. I guess to some people they are just dishonest liars but if you have a better understanding of trauma, these reactions make sense. Also there isn't one reaction. Some people are at the police station the morning after an assault and giving every single detail - but some aren't and that doesn't mean it didn't happen, they are just processing it differently. It isn't uncommon for people to take decades to talk about sexual trauma. That doesn't mean they lied.

I have no idea what actually happened or didn't happen - I don't know enough to come to any conclusion. Honestly right now, no one does, but there is nothing so far that would make me conclude that there is no way this happened. Trauma isn't textbook, it isn't linear, it isn't straightforward, it isn't the same experience for everyone. It can b messy and dark and the person often knows they may not be believed, they may be efforts to discredit them, to make them prove it...and it can take people a long time to feel strong enough to put themselves out there to take that. That is the case even when the person they are alleging hurt them isn't a public figure.  To put yourself out there to be scrutinized by family and friends is one there - by a nation and media - you really have to be sure you are strong enough and in the right place to handle that. And you have to do it in a way and at a time that you think your voice will be heard, that you won't be silenced or pushed under the rug and you got up the nerve for nothing.[/quote]

Nobody is disputing how trauma works, but in this case there is concrete evidence to indicate there simply was no trauma. [/quote]

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