By Anne P. DePrince
A Manhattan jury has found that former President Donald Trump sexually abused journalist E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s and defamed her by saying that she had lied about the assault. The jury, which announced its verdict on May 9, 2023, awarded Carroll US$5 million in damages.
Trump’s legal team ended its closing arguments in his rape trial on May 8 by saying that Carroll was lying about the alleged decades-old assault.
Carroll filed a lawsuit in 2022, claiming that Trump had raped her and then defamed her with his denials.
Trump has always denied that the encounter with Carroll ever took place.
While cross-examining Carroll, Trump’s attorney, Joseph Tacopina, suggested she only came forward with her allegations, in 2019, “because of her disdain for Trump’s politics and because she wanted to sell copies of her book.”
Tacopina also asked Carroll, 79, why she did not scream, call the police or recall the date and time of the alleged assault, which she says took place in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in Manhattan in 1996.
“I’m telling you, he raped me, whether I screamed or not,” Carroll said in court on April 27.
As a researcher who has studied violence against women for more than two decades, I can tell you that this line of questioning reinforced common myths about sexual assault that have been perpetuated in other high-profile sexual assault cases, such as those of comedian Bill Cosby and Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.
It’s a common refrain, but one without merit.
Eva Deitch for The Washington Post/Getty Images
Myths about responses to sexual assault
Over several decades, researchers have documented myths about sexual assault – referred to as rape myths – that are both common and persistently held.
Like the line of questioning directed at Carroll, rape myths imply that “real” sexual assault can be distinguished from false accusations based on how women responded to the assault.
For example, myths that “real” victims will fight back and call the police right away are common. Rape myths are so prevalent that they can even be detected among people with training on sexual assault, such as law enforcement officers and crime lab personnel. In turn, rape myths have serious consequences for decision-making in cases, even in terms of whether or not cases are dismissed.
Contrary to myths, though, people respond in diverse ways when they experience traumatic events, including sexual assault. Certainly, some people fight back, as Carroll testified she did. However, other people may appear conciliatory or passive. The range of responses that people have during traumatic events, referred to as flight, fight or freeze, can be affected by automatic processes, such as stress hormones that are released in response to threat.
People also vary in how they act after sexual assault, such as whether or not they call the police or seek medical care. Carroll testified on May 2, regarding her behavior, saying, “Women like me were taught and trained to keep our chins up and to not complain.”
“The fact that I never went to the police is not surprising for someone my age,” said Carroll, who was about 52 years old at the time of the alleged assault.
It’s actually not surprising for women of many ages. Indeed, a vast majority of rapes go unreported to law enforcement, even though people may disclose what happened to friends, family or other informal support people in their lives.
Myths about responses to disclosure
Women have many reasons for disclosing – or not disclosing – sexual harassment and assault, including to try to prevent others from being harmed, find safety or get help.
After all, research shows that sexual assault can take a serious toll on all aspects of survivors’ lives, from their physical and psychological health to their careers and education. Despite the costs to survivors, those who seek monetary compensation are often met with suspicion.
In 2015, a team of researchers considered responses to sexual assault in a court setting by asking mock jurors to read nearly identical summaries of a sexual assault trial.
The descriptions were the same, except for one important detail: About half of the participants also learned that the victim had filed a civil case to try to get monetary compensation. The mock jurors who read about the civil suit were less likely to say they would convict the defendant.
They also perceived the defendant as more credible, and the victim less so, seeing her instead as greedy and manipulative.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Women rarely lie about sexual assault
People routinely question women’s credibility when they disclose sexual harassment and assault, and imply that women lie about assault.
However, evidence consistently shows that false reports of sexual assault are exceedingly rare. For example, two different research teams analyzed sexual assault reports made to the Los Angeles Police Department and a large university police department. Using careful criteria for coding allegations and evidence, the teams estimated that only 4.5% to 5.9% of cases were false.
Yet, the vast majority of sexual assault cases reported to law enforcement do not result in convictions. According to research funded by the National Institute of Justice, only about 6% of sexual assault cases reported to the police led to a determination of guilt.
In 2017, when my research team interviewed more than 200 women who were sexually assaulted, we discovered that friends and family commonly responded to disclosures with negative reactions. They treated survivors differently, focused on how the assault affected them instead of the survivors, took control away from survivors and even blamed survivors for the assaults.
In 2019, when another research team pulled together 51 studies like ours on reactions to women’s disclosures, they found a consistent pattern – women who got more negative reactions when they disclosed their assaults had worse mental health outcomes, such as more severe post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. This pattern suggests that when women disclose, they are trying to get help and support.
When those hopes for support are dashed by negative reactions instead, women’s psychological pain is worse.
Carroll put it this way as she described the impact of negative reactions to her disclosure: “It hit me and it laid me low because I lost my reputation. Nobody looked at me the same. It was gone. Even people who knew me looked at me with pity in their eyes, and the people who had no opinion now thought I was a liar and hated me.”
Anne P. DePrince is Professor of Psychology at the University of Denver.
The Conversation arose out of deep-seated concerns for the fading quality of our public discourse and recognition of the vital role that academic experts could play in the public arena. Information has always been essential to democracy. It’s a societal good, like clean water. But many now find it difficult to put their trust in the media and experts who have spent years researching a topic. Instead, they listen to those who have the loudest voices. Those uninformed views are amplified by social media networks that reward those who spark outrage instead of insight or thoughtful discussion. The Conversation seeks to be part of the solution to this problem, to raise up the voices of true experts and to make their knowledge available to everyone. The Conversation publishes nightly at 9 p.m. on FlaglerLive.
YankeeExPat says
Cue the religous right hypocrites to say it’s the sin not the sinner
The dude says
“When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.”
The problem is, the orange stain has shown us all time again and again who he is, yet the GOP still absolutely love him.
They ARE him, and he is they. That is the only logical conclusion here.
They adore hate, lies, and shittiness above all else.
A Concerned Patriot says
She accused him AFTER the original statute of limitations had expired and then extended. Why did she wait so long? She had ZERO proof. In her own words (from an interview with Anderson Cooper) she believes that “people think Rape is sexy”, which any psychologist would say is a projection of her own feelings. Meanwhile, she gains notoriety at the perfect time to sell her book and try to discredit a former President, with the intent to keep him from running again. That much is very clear So let’s summarize:
– Proof – None demonstrated
– Responsiveness – Did not report until a Democrat lawyer mentioned the extension of the statute of limitations
– Motive – High (both financial and political)
She and others like her (e.g. Christine Ford), demonstrate a double standard that always seems to favor Democrats. Why didn’t any jury side with Juanita Broderick, Paula Jones, Katheleen Willey, or Leslie Millwee? It comes down to one thing: politics.
Willy James says
You are so wrong on so many levels! This not about Democrat or Republican. It was not a criminal case because of the statute of limitations! This was a civil law suit not about rape but defamation of character and sexual abuse. Different rules in civil litigation! This was asshole Trump believing that his star power would entitle him to do whatever he desired to do with women. If he had laid his hands on my wife, he would be missing those hands today!
Standby, because there will be criminal cases coming real soon. When you think you’re above the law and entitled you deserve the full force of the law! As for the many lawyers he has working for him, they have to be the most ignorant people in the law profession. I wonder how many are still trying to get paid from the orange blight.
Sherry says
@acp. . . I’m calling complete BS on your outrageously offensive chauvinistic comment! Did you even read this entire article?
It doesn’t come down to politics . . . “IT” comes down to “POWER”! Power of men over women! That animal Harvey Weinstein immediately comes to mind. Rape and sexual assault is not about sex, it is about exerting power and abuse!
Unless you are a woman living in our culture where men still wield enormous power over women in every corner of our society, “you” have NO idea! NO idea why women hesitate to be subjected to incredibly invasive examinations, to file police reports, to even “tell” their spouses/families/friends about sexual assault/rape. NO idea what such a story does to a woman’s reputation!
By the way, Ms Carroll did have evidence. . . she did tell two women who testified under oath to the story she told them. Introduced into evidence was a photo of trump with this victim. . . although trump still contends he has no idea who she is.
Do you not understand that over 25 women have accused trump of some level of sexual misconduct? Did you not see the video where we bragged about grabbing women by their private parts? If trump was so completely innocent, why didn’t he show up in court, face her, and testify?
Laurel says
*Concerned Patriot:* You are exactly the reason women don’t report.
With Christine Blasey Ford, the Republicans had an expert with them to back up Kavanaugh’s denial. That did not happen. After the first part of Ford’s testimony, at the beginning of the break, all the Republicans got up, not saying a word, and soberly walked off with their expert. Now, I can flippen’ guarantee you that the expert told them Ford was not lying. They came back at acknowledged that Ford was not lying, but that she simply couldn’t remember who assaulted her. Ford is an expert on the workings of the brain. She was not confused about who assaulted her.
The double standard is yours.
Sherry says
Thanks Laurel! You are most certainly right on about the travesty regarding Christine Blasey Ford. That is the perfect example of why women don’t report sexual abuse. NO. . . let’s “glorify” those those abusers like Kavanaugh and put them on the Supreme Court. . . right up there with the likes of Anita Hill’s sexual harasser Clarence Thomas. The paramount example of men’s power over women!!
bob says
You appear to be an enabler of abuse
Bill C says
Just another example of a Trumpaholic enabler!
JimBob says
The titters and giggles in response to Trump’s joking references to sexual assault and rape at the CNN Town Hall show all you need to know about New Hampshire republicans—they’d fit right in in Florida.
Laurel says
Sadly, the belief that woman are the bad actors and men are the victims continues today, like women are so bold as to go after these guys even though they will be harassed and put down. We know that men are much more prone to violence, as a tool of power, than women are. Another example of power gone bad are the mass shootings going on and on. Trump plays the victim well, except when he stupidly continues to defame the woman who sued him, and won, for defamation. That’s what got him in trouble and brought the suit on this late in the day, for those who want to know.
A while back, I wrote here about how I confronted a female Trump supporter about how she can support a man for President who says about women “…when you’re a star, you can do anything you want. You can grab them by the pussy.” The woman looked at me as if I was from Mars, and told me she had never heard that. Well, guess what. I recently, last week, came across another woman who was also puzzled by Trump’s quote, and said she had never heard that either. How could she not hear that comment after all these years? Fox “News” not only lies, but they lie by omission as well. They only tell you what they want you to know, and possibly, only what you want to hear.
Sexual assault still exits as a norm in the military. How are we to fight sexual assault against women when the past President of the United States thinks he is entitled to such behavior? Trump stated that his comment may be bad, or it may be okay. He admitted sexual assault.
The jury of Trump’s peers did the right thing.
No Impartiality to be found in the Big Apple! says
You cannot possibly expect a Judge or Jury to be impartial with Trump! The liberal New York Snowflakes are deranged with hatred for him, How dare he deny crooked Hillary from being their next commander in chief? I am from New York, I must go home every year for Christmas with CNN blaring all day on the tube and be nice and polite when I want to strangle all of them! LOL Did anyone watch this Pound me too #metoo lady’s interview with Anderson Cooper? She was litterally hitting on the gender bender, he was visibly uncomfortable and called for a break on Air, she is nuttier than a squirrel turd.
Sherry says
@NI to be found. . . I sincerely hope you find the counseling you so desperately need and very, very soon! We can only hope you do not own a gun!
don miller says
the real shame is she didn’t accuse him after the statute of limitations was changed. they were changed so she could take him to court and the billionaire dem owner of linkdin paid her legal bill. the NY legislature gave a one year window waiving the limitations beginning in may 2022 until may 2023 to accuse anyone for what happened at anytime in the past. everyone okay with the changing the rules retroactively to get you?
Sherry says
@dm. . . way to mindlessly post FOX talking points. Did you even bother to read the entire article?
Laurel says
Don: You are bothered by the changing of rules? Do you live in Florida? Have you ever heard of DeSantis?
It seems that the Trumpers don’t understand that the civil suit was about defamation, and not a rape trial. Trump is the one who stupidly made it current, and continues to do so. This has nothing to do with a statute of limitations or any recent laws that have changed. I hope she sues him again! She can, you know.
Maybe he can’t just shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it. How does orange on orange sound?
Sherry says
YES Laurel! Right On! Apparently FOX is not showing how trump is continuing to be the bully and abuser by continuing to run off at the mouth and “defame” her even AFTER the trial! She is even thinking about suing him again. I hope she does!
Again. . . this was NOT a rape trial! Contrary to the BS FOX slings. . .
Orange on orange sounds perfect to me! Love it!
988 says
Sherry, please have these important numbers for the Suicide Prevention Hotline tattooed onto your palm so you wont forget them when the Depend Undergarment sporting “Leader Puppet” of the free world and his equally useless sidekick fail to get re-elected and we swear in the “Orange Goblin” again. The mind is a terrible thing for some poor first responder to have to clean. Be well and repeat after me: Its only 4 more years! breathe… There will finally be a cure for Trump Derangement Syndrome in 2028, I promise, Only FDR served 4 terms.
Sherry says
Thanks 988. . . if (by hook or by crook) the voters in the US have “gone around the bend” to the point that morally and ethically corrupt trump gets into the presidency again, we will be moving to another country! No kidding! My brother has already done that and is delighted to be living in Canada. We are looking at Mexico.