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Originating in the medical sciences, where it referred to physical injuries, the term “trauma” is now often used in popular and scholarly discussions to refer to psychological injuries. Although large-scale mental health surveys consistently indicate that sexual assault is a major risk factor for traumatic illness, it is often assumed that pre-existing mental illness is the cause of the allegation itself.
Arguments around the veracity of assault allegations may be based on stereotypical representations of people with mental illness as untrustworthy witnesses to their own experiences.
The recent sexual assault allegation against Attorney General Christian Porter, which he vigorously denied, was accompanied by speculative comments about the memory and sanity of Porter’s now deceased accuser. Some reporters have pointed out his state of mental health in a way designed to raise questions about his account and suggest that his allegation was post-hoc confusion.
The complainant’s bipolar diagnosis, her demand for mental health care, her fragmented diary entries, and her access to a book on the neuroscience of trauma have been highlighted as evidence that she made up her story or suffered from so-called “memories” repressed ”or“ found ”.
This type of argument reflects long-held myths that prevail in journalism and the community about trauma, memory, and mental illness. Below, we address three major misunderstandings.
1. Trauma and bipolar disorder are not mutually exclusive
The apparent links in media comments between a bipolar diagnosis and false allegations of sexual assault reflect a misunderstanding of the diagnosis.
People with bipolar disorder have large fluctuations in mood, including mild depression and active “manic” states. A series of studies have shown that childhood trauma increases the risk of developing bipolar disorder and contributes to the severity and complexity of symptoms, including an early age of onset and an increase in suicidal ideation and substance abuse. A clinical study of bipolar patients found that they were significantly more likely to report sexual assault in childhood or adulthood than patients with depressive illness. This evidence suggests that sexual assault is a risk factor for developing bipolar disorder, and people with a bipolar diagnosis may be more vulnerable to sexual assault.
Bipolar has been somewhat overlooked in research on the relationship between sexual assault and mental illness, and these findings point to the need for further exploration.
Read more: What is bipolar disorder, the condition Kanye West lives with?
2. “Recovered memory therapy” does not exist
Psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk wrote a bestselling book, The Body Keeps Score. This book was noted in Porter’s alleged victim’s diary. Media commentators have repeatedly pointed it out as controversial.
In the field of trauma studies, this book is not considered controversial and is not associated with any theories or practices of “repressed” or “retrieved” memory. In addition, “recovered memory therapy” is a mistake.
“Recovered Memory Therapy” is a derogatory term coined in the early 1990s to describe trauma therapy. People who use the term claim that a significant number of therapists use inappropriate techniques designed to “retrieve” forgotten or repressed memories of sexual abuse, which creates “false memories” and false claims. However, there is no therapy called “recovered memory therapy,” and the term has been described by trauma specialists as a form of misinformation created by advocates for those accused of sexual offenses.
In 2004, Victoria’s health regulator launched an investigation into “recovered memory therapy” (RMT) at the request of “false memory” activists. The investigation concluded that “reports on the practice of RMT are often based on speculation” and “there is no reliable evidence of the practice of RMT” in the state. The investigation demonstrates how exaggerated claims of RMT were made in Australia despite the lack of evidence.
Since the early 1990s, “best practice” trauma therapy has focused on establishing emotional and physical safety, treating and narrating trauma experiences, and working through abuse and misery. violence.
Read more: Dissociative identity disorder exists and is the result of childhood trauma
3. Memory errors and logging are not necessarily evidence of false claims
Some of the coverage has focused on specific details of the victim’s claim, implying that any discrepancy in details invalidates the claims.
Details matter in establishing the legitimacy of claims. But recent evidence on the neuroscience of memory requires a rethinking of the public and legal understanding of memory. According to American researchers, memory is generally perceived as “similar to a VCR”. But, they argue, memory is fundamentally “imperfect and susceptible to distortion and loss.” They conclude that “there needs to be better education and awareness of memory processes in legal contexts and in everyday life”.
Dori Laub, a prominent Israeli-American psychiatrist and professor at Yale University, recalled a woman describing her experience at Auschwitz for the video archive of Holocaust testimony at Yale in her famous testimonial essay. The woman said four chimneys exploded and caught fire during the Auschwitz uprising. When he presented this interview at an interdisciplinary conference, historians said his recollection was incorrect; only one chimney had blown. His memory was fallible, unreliable and therefore inadmissible.
Laub, the psychoanalyst who interviewed the woman for the video, disagreed. He said: “The woman was testifying not to the number of chimneys that exploded, but to something else, something more radical, more crucial: the reality of an unimaginable event. According to him, the accuracy of the number “mattered less than the event” and, therefore, the woman’s testimony was “historical truth” despite her factual error.
The private diary entries of Porter’s alleged victim have been presented by some reporters as inconsistent, and a reference to her who initially ignored the assault in hopes of marrying Porter has come to the fore. Many sexually assaulted people know their abuser. Being related to an abuser to any degree can increase common traumatic shock symptoms of denial and minimization.
Logging is often less than consistent. It is not meant to be read but to help deal with very complex personal experiences. A lot of women relate to those messy log entries.
Media coverage has been an integral part of driving social change and highlighting the plight of victims and survivors of sexual violence.
However, the media also harbor cultures of resistance rooted to developments in trauma science, reflecting personal and professional biases as well as common attitudes and misunderstandings in the community.
Comments reinforcing the current stigma of traumatic and mental conditions negatively affect a significant proportion of the Australian population.
Journalists should consult with professionals with expertise in trauma and people living with mental illness when reporting on sensitive issues such as the impact of trauma on memory, in accordance with best practice guidelines. Trauma and mental health are public health issues, and people with media platforms have a responsibility to get it right.
Read more: Evidence shows mental illness is no reason to doubt female survivors
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