DARVO was coined by Dr. Jennifer Freyd in the 1990s and stands for “Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender.” DARVO is a common defense strategy by perpetrators, narcissists, and offenders of both criminal and noncriminal harm when they wish to deflect accountability for their actions. Despite how common DARVO is both individually in relationships as well as on a larger scale (e.g., corporate and government level), it isn’t talked about very often. DARVO is highly effective at silencing victims. But I’m hopeful that by sharing knowledge of how DARVO operates, we can empower ourselves and our society to combat it. In this episode, we discuss the dynamics of DARVO, as well as the ways it can suppress whistleblowers and negatively impact their wellbeing. I know it’s a weighty topic for this episode, but it feels highly useful for all of us to have this knowledge handy, whether to advocate …
