As the acronym suggests, DARVO commonly involves these steps: These tactics are similar to other techniques used by perpetrators to avoid accountability by manipulating observers's perceptions of events.
Researchers have noted similarities to outrage management, where a perpetrator tries to make observers think better of themself and their actions so they can avoid consequences.
[2]Research on interpersonal violence has mostly focused on how perpetrators use individual components or steps of DARVO, rather than studying them in combination.
However, studies before and after DARVO was coined found a correlation between perpetrators who minimized or denied their wrongdoing and those who reversed the positions of victim and offender.
Studies on the prevalence of DARVO suggest it is a common tactic used by perpetrators when they are confronted over their behavior, regardless of the type of harm they have caused.
The offenses ranged from social mistreatment, like betrayed secrets, to interpersonal violence, like sexual assault or child abuse.
DARVO has been labeled in some cases of medical malpractice, where victim blaming is already common since doctors and hospitals generally refuse to admit their mistakes due to legal risk.
In the case of academia, when professors try to report bullying, DARVO tactics often compel them to stop speaking up, adding to their trauma and contributing to a culture of silence.
[13] DARVO tactics are more successful when abusers can take advantage of societal beliefs and stereotypes to convince their audience of their new narrative.
In the case of sexual violence, assailants sometimes victim-blame by appealing to societal opinions on gender roles and power dynamics.
Stereotypes can help perpetrators: if an assailant is a white wealthy man, he may be perceived as authoritative and sincere, whereas if an accusation against him was made by a journalist, they might be seen as predatory and thus less trustworthy.
[15] DARVO is able to move perceptions of responsibility and blame from attackers to victims, when studied in cases of sexual abuse.
Anti-SLAPP measures help in cases where a perpetrator's lawsuit would obviously fail and was just brought forward to increase public and financial pressure on the victim.
For male respondents, avoiding the discussion of relationship difficulties was also strongly correlated with the likelihood of past abuse.