PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Rebecca Stewart

Telephone: 513-479-3335

Email: info@EndToDV.org

Depp-Heard Verdict: Long-Overdue Vindication for the Falsely Accused and for Male Victims of Domestic Violence

WASHINGTON / June 2, 2022 – The verdict from the six-week defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard highlights the twin problems of false allegations and domestic violence against men (1).  Depp had sued Heard for $50 million for authoring a 2018 Washington Post editorial that implied that he had committed domestic violence against her (2).

False accusations of abuse have become widespread in recent years. According to a 2020 national survey conducted by YouGov, 11% of men and 6% of women report being falsely accused of domestic violence, sexual assault, or child abuse (3).

The internationally watched trial was highlighted by revelations that Heard had taunted Depp by saying, “Tell them, ‘I, Johnny Depp, a man, I’m a victim, too, of domestic violence’…and see if people believe or side with you.” Many male victims regard the trial verdict as a turning point in their decades-long quest for recognition and help (4).

Male victims of domestic violence outnumber female victims. Each year there are 4.2 million male victims of domestic violence, compared to 3.5 million female victims, according to the CDC (5). Likewise, 1.5 million Black men are victims of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual violence, compared to 1.4 million Black women each year (6).

Despite these numbers, four out of five persons arrested for domestic violence are male (7), revealing the effects of biased police training (8). One analysis reported that females represented only 16% of defendants in aggravated domestic violence cases (9), revealing a problem with selective prosecution.

Despite high numbers of male victims, programs funded by the Violence Against Women Act underserve these persons. The most recent Biennial Report to Congress documents large sex disparities in the provision of victim services (10).

Researcher Murray Straus notes, “the past 25 years has seen a systematic denial of evidence about perpetration of PV [partner violence] by women. This denial is troublesome for social scientists because it threatens the integrity of science, and for practitioners because it threatens the effectiveness of prevention and treatment efforts.” (11)

The Coalition to End Domestic Violence calls upon all parties — the media, lawmakers, law enforcement officials, and managers of domestic violence programs — to address the long-neglected problems of false allegations and male victims of domestic violence.

Links:

  1. https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/live-blog/-johnny-depp-amber-heard-verdict-live-updates-rcna31428
  2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ive-seen-how-institutions-protect-men-accused-of-abuse-heres-what-we-can-do/2018/12/18/71fd876a-02ed-11e9-b5df-5d3874f1ac36_story.html
  3. http://www.prosecutorintegrity.org/pr/survey-over-20-million-have-been-falsely-accused-of-abuse/
  4. https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/male-domestic-violence-survivors-say-feel-depp-heard-trial-turning-poi-rcna29742
  5. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/2015data-brief508.pdf , Tables 9 and 11
  6. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs-statereportbook.pdf , Tables 5.3 and 5.6
  7. https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/fvs.pdf ,Table 5.9.
  8. https://endtodv.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Predominant-Aggressor-Mass-Inceration.pdf
  9. Smith EL, Durose MR, Langan PA. State Court Processing of Domestic Violence Cases. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice. NCJ 214993. 2008.
  10. https://www.justice.gov/ovw/page/file/1292636/download
  11. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2009-03449-011