“The victim was acting erratic on the stand, but the abuser was acting calm and stable. Which means they are innocent.”
This is what’s called a trauma response. It’s very notorious for abusers to act calm and stable in contrast to their victim.
The victim might disassociate emotionally, or they might become hyper-emotional. If they’ve always been quite calm or stoic, they might behave in a manner that’s quite unusual for them, such as crying at the drop of a hat or becoming irritable. Some might
have difficulty concentrating and feel confused, thus making them seem erratic and unintelligible when they’re speaking.
Meanwhile, their abuser is absolutely calm and collected, manipulating the situation
like a puppeteer twiddling a marionette’s strings. They seem completely coherent and put together, while the victim is erratic, unstable, even frantic. As a result, the victim gets seen as unhinged while the abuser seems completely
rational.
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