To think if a woman complains of domestic violence, our first response should not be calling her a liar.

[mrgrouper]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-36403396

Amber Heard has been granted a restraining order against Johnny Depp. There are photos circulating on the Internet of her with a nasty bruise over her right eye which she states occurred Depp caused by throwing an iPhone at her.

Many comments on Twitter claim the photos are faked, (apparently there was a photo taken a day later which does not show a bruise), people calling her manipulative and others pointing out as she is an actress, this is probably just a Machiavellian piece of show acting.

I have been through DV on two occasions and each time was branded a liar. About time both male and female victims of DV are supported and not shamed.

I'm not offering commentary just on this case. I'm going a little off piste.

People can behave 'strangely' after DV. There is no universal response:

m.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/581/anatomy-of-doubt

This podcast is awesome. It reshaped my attitudes towards how much support we give unproven/ DV victims .

Although I agree with BSDs forecasting of the likely legal/court response, and dig the general cerebral approach to looking at things in general, DV is a hugely complex area from a psychological/sociological perspective.

It would be insane to go as far as blindly believing every DV accusation/lower the burden of proof, but to create a 'safe space's for DV victims is a positive thing. There shouldn't be stigma with making the accusation.

The problems with the current setup are myriad though. I actually think we should potentially have the accused remaining anonymous too, until the court case completes, as the stigma of false accusations is bloody horrendous. Trial by media destroys lives.

If we can have court imposed super injunctions for adventurous celebs, we should be able to have them for norms in life shattering disputes too.

When you have a phone thrown in your face, or in my case a sky remote (classy) or a shoe etc, you are embarrassed, you feel small and stupid. I'll bet there were lots of little incidents that she didn't report but then one day you may snap and decide that enough is enough. And believe me, people don't want to believe that someone they know is capable of abuse, they didn't spot it so it didn't happen.