DARVO
/DAR-voh/abbreviation · noun · verb
Meaning
DARVO is an abbreviation for “Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender.” It describes a manipulative response to an accusation or attempt at accountability: the accused denies or minimizes the wrongdoing, attacks the accuser’s credibility or motives, and recasts themself as the victim while portraying the original victim or whistleblower as the offender.[1][2]
- 1. The three-part response pattern of denying wrongdoing, attacking the person raising the issue, and reversing the roles of victim and offender.
- 2. An instance of that pattern, as in calling a defensive reply or public statement “DARVO.”
- 3. To DARVO someone is to use this response against them, especially after they confront or criticize you.
- 4. DARVOed or DARVOing can describe someone who has been subjected to, or is using, the pattern.
Examples
“That reply is textbook DARVO: deny, attack, then play the victim.”
“I brought up the missing money and got DARVOed immediately.”
“Calling the whistleblower the problem was straight-up DARVO.”
“He didn't apologize; he DARVOed her and demanded sympathy instead.”
“The comment section turned into DARVO when the creator was asked for accountability.”
Origin and spread
Psychologist Jennifer Joy Freyd coined DARVO in her 1997 article “Violations of Power, Adaptive Blindness, and Betrayal Trauma Theory,” using it as a compact name for a response she observed when alleged abusers were held accountable. The phrase was developed further in 1999 writing on abuse and betrayal, and later research examined how DARVO can affect judgments of victims and perpetrators. It began appearing more widely in public discussions of sexual misconduct, workplace retaliation, institutional betrayal, and online accountability during the late 2010s and early 2020s.[2]
How to use it
DARVO is most precise when all three elements are present or clearly emerging; a simple denial, disagreement, or defensive reaction is not automatically DARVO. The term is often used seriously in discussions of abuse, harassment, whistleblowing, and power imbalances, but it has also become casual internet shorthand. Calling something DARVO can identify a harmful interaction pattern, but it does not by itself prove that an accusation is true or establish who committed an earlier wrong.
Sources
- 1. Jennifer Joy Freyd — DARVOSupports: meaning.
- 2. Stanford University Clayman Institute — You’ve been DARVOed and you don’t even know itSupports: meaning, origin.
