Deny Attack Reverse Victim and Offender

Deny Attack Reverse Victim and Offender form the initialism DARVO used to describe a psychological defense tactic commonly used by manipulators to escape the consequences of their actions.

DARVO is an extreme form of gaslighting. Its purpose is to exonerate the perpetrator and scapegoat the person they targeted for abuse by distorting reality.

This is accomplished by:

• Denying the abuse ever took place.
• Attacking the victim with false accusations of misconduct, and
• Reversing the roles of
• Victim, and
• Offender

Further Reading

• How Narcissists Use DARVO To Escape Accountability
• DARVO in Marriage and Relationships
• DARVO: Deny, Attack, Reverse, Victim and Offender
• What is DARVO in Narcissistic Relationships?
• From Denial to Gaslighting: Decoding DARVO in Dysfunctional Relationships
• What Is Blame-Shifting And Why Is It Harmful?
• The Cycle of Narcissistic Abuse
• The Complete Guide to Narcissistic Abuse Recovery
• The Global Coercive Control Legislation Index
• The Global Femicide Legislation Index

DARVO effectively conceals the truth by trumping up false claims about the victim and altering how they are perceived in the eyes of other people. When perpetrators of DARVO are highly narcissistic, they tend to be charismatic and very persuasive in their rendition of the false narratives they create about their victims.

The affects of DARVO on the reputation of the victim is often so devastating that they are stunned into confusion and silence by the perpetrator’s reality distortions.