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False memory is a weapon often used to discredit sexual assault survivors
Psychologists say survivors do not forget their horrific experiences. They may try to not remember, but completely forgetting is extremely unlikely.
(Image: Fernanda Latronico/Pexels)
Memory is contentious, that much is clear. Those who have experienced trauma often have patchy memories: dissociation is common, as is freezing and becoming immobile.
But the idea that someone can simply forget then remember an instance of abuse, having previously remembered nothing, is not one supported by professionals, and has not been a common claim for decades.
Yet false memory syndrome has been used to discredit survivors time and again in recent years. Lawyers for Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein have all called in experts on false memory to give expert testimony at their trials.
The False Memory Syndrome at 30: How Flawed Science Turned into Conventional Wisdom Â
In early December of 1990, the young academic was feeling confused. Though she had recently been granted tenure and was a happily married mother of two, she was weighed down by a surprising surge in anxiety. To get some relief from her distress, she decided to enter psychotherapy.
When she mentioned in an early session how much she was dreading the prospect of seeing her parents during the upcoming Christmas vacation, her therapist asked if she had ever been abused. âI said, âNo,â but later that day, I began experiencing disturbing flashbacks. Over the next few weeks, I remembered that my father had molested me when I was a young child,â said Jennifer Freyd, a professor of psychology at the University of Oregon, in a phone interview. âWhen my parents arrived for their visit, I couldnât handle being with them, and my husband blurted out the reason. They ended up lea