A psychologist and expert on domestic violence has explained why some women stay in abusive relationships while testifying at Johnny Depp’s $50 million defamation lawsuit.
Dr Dawn Hughes was the first witness to be called by Amber Heard’s lawyers when she said that acts of ‘sexual violence’ like Depp's make it hard for victims to know the right time to leave a relationship.
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She also compared the experience to ‘sucking the oxygen out of the room and before you know it you're suffocating’.
Dr Hughes added that victims feel immense shame due to the abuse, which has a 'compounding effect' on them.
The psychologist also said that abusive relationships are a 'vicious cycle of trying to figure out how can I be with this man who hurts me and yet I love him so much'.
Dr Hughes said: “For the loving man, stay for the man who is kind, (the man she) had hoped and promised for their future.
“Some people stay because they have economic reasons, some people have children in common and don't want to deprive their children of a father.
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“The most dangerous time for a woman is when she's leaving - her likelihood of being killed increases substantially. Staying keeps her safe.”
Despite not being her client, Dr Hughes revealed to Fairfax County Court that she interviewed Heard for 22 hours back in 2021.
After conducting a forensic evaluation of Heard, her findings were 'consistent about what we know about Intimate Partner Violence’ and that the actress had PTSD.
She told the court: “[My] main opinion is that Ms. Heard’s report of intimate partner violence and the records I reviewed is consistent with what we know in the field about intimate partner violence, characterised by physical violence, psychological aggression, sexual violence, coercive control and surveillance behaviours.”
Dr Hughes also told the court a horrific story where the Pirates of the Caribbean actor thought it was 'acceptable to rip off her nightgown and stick his fingers up her vagina, looking for cocaine'.
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Dr Hughes said Depp’s abuse was 'alcohol fuelled', which would sometimes lead the actor to throw Heard on a bed demanding sex.
"If he was not able to perform he would get more angry at her and blame her," she said.
Depp is currently suing his ex-wife over a 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post, which claimed she was a survivor of physical and emotional abuse.
Although Heard never mentioned the actor by name, Depp says the article tarnished his reputation, which ultimately led to the demise of his career.
Featured Image Credit: Youtube/Law&Crime Network. Michael Reynolds/Pool via REUTERS/AlamyTopics: News, Crime, Johnny Depp, US News, Celebrity