July 2023

Dear Friends of Courage,

In this issue of the Courage Brief, we're sharing two substantial articles.

The first article is a case study from the University of Michigan. It recounts a cross-cutting research and advocacy conference centered on the dynamics of power and hierarchy and their role in creating environments ripe for abuse of power. The conference also shed light on strategies to address harm in ways that can help restore and transform institutions.

The second article discusses a research project funded by an Institutional Courage Research Grant from Courage. It explores the relationship between DARVO (Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim & Offender) and systemic oppression. This research is a significant step in our ongoing effort to understand and combat institutional betrayal, and we're deeply grateful for the support of our donors that made it possible.

These are essential reads for anyone interested in promoting institutional courage, and I hope you delve into both.

Jennifer Freyd
Founder and President, Center for Institutional Courage

Institutional Courage Through
Building Community:

Steps Forward after Institutional Betrayal at the University of Michigan

By Elizabeth A. Armstrong
Sherry B. Ortner Collegiate Professor of Sociology, University of Michigan
Research Advisor, Center for Institutional Courage

Too many universities have experienced institutional betrayal in the form of sexual misconduct by high-ranking administrators, doctors, or coaches. The University of Michigan is among these schools. In January 2020 U-M’s provost was abruptly terminated after overwhelming evidence of his sexual predation came to light. Shortly after that, decades of abuses of athletes by a sports doctor working for U-M surfaced. The university responded by changing policies and procedures. These changes were necessary but could not repair the harms to the community of these betrayals. To contribute to healing, U-M’s new Prevention Education, Assistance and Resources (PEAR) Department led by Kaaren Williamsen worked with Elizabeth A. Armstrong and other researchers affiliated with U-M’s Institute for Research on Women and Gender to plan and host a conference. The event, which brought together almost 300 practitioners, students, faculty, staff, and administrators – some of whom were also survivors –focused on individual and collective healing and sharing novel approaches to prevention and response.

Across two days of workshops and panels, researchers and practitioners focused on how power and hierarchy create opportunities for the abuse of power and on ways to respond to harms in ways that restore and transform institutions. Like the Center for Institutional Courage, U-M’s team views interdisciplinary research as key to preventing and responding to gender-based violence. Conference sessions were designed around translating research into policy and practice.

Highlights included a plenary conversation about transformative justice in response to gender-based violence with Xhercis Méndez, associate professor of women’s and gender studies at California State University, Fullerton, and closing remarks by Rebecca Campbell, professor of psychology at Michigan State University. Both offered insights from the perspective of sustained commitments to this work. Dr. Méndez asked us to think about what kinds of responses address root causes of harm and to prioritize healing and support for not only the person harmed, but the person causing harm. Dr. Campbell, whose expertise has been called upon by multiple organizations in crisis, identified barriers to organizational change she has encountered over the course of her work.

Sessions provided attendees with skills to take into their professional and personal lives within and beyond the university. For example, a 4-hour workshop on Circle Processes led by Carrie Landrum, Adaptable Resolution & Restorative Practices Lead in the Equity, Civil Rights, and Title IX Office, provoked one attendee to report that they intended to “Apply [what they learned] to my campus by re-evaluating our current circle process and informal resolution processes.”

The event centered the experiences of survivors, with a much-appreciated poetry writing workshop facilitated by Zoë Brigley (Thompson) from Ohio State University and a photography exhibit created by U-M alumna Laura Sinko. The exhibit explored survivorship and the healing journeys of women who experienced sexual assault or dating violence while on a college campus.

A takeaway from the event is that institutional courage is hard – and impossible to sustain alone. Change work requires community – and building this community requires investment. We were personally re-energized and transformed by this event. We are hopeful that this event will spark research and interventions that will create a more equitable university.

Join Us and Support Courage

With your help, Courage can conduct groundbreaking scientific research and share what we learn with the world. Together, we can make institutional courage a reality. Courage is a 501(c)(3) exempt organization, and your donation is deductible within the limits set by the IRS.

DARVO and Systemic Oppression

Kevin Challender, Farheen Hassan, James Sotto, and Romana Triliegi
Doctoral Students
PsyD in Counseling Psychology
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota

DARVO –  Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender – is an insidious tactic of abusers, first described by Center for Institutional Courage founder Jennifer Freyd in 1997. Our research team, funded by an Institutional Courage Research Grant, studied DARVO in the context of systemic oppression on university campuses. Through focus groups with university students who experienced different types of systemic oppression (such as racism and LGBTQ+ oppression), we found that DARVO was a prevalent tool in perpetuating oppression.

Institutional representatives – like staff, faculty, and administrators – maintain evaluative and administrative power over students. Our participants disclosed a range of ways in which DARVO occurs and emphasizes the power dynamic. Reports of professors denying responsibility for racist comments in class were met with dismissive responses like, "It's not my job, don't come crying to me about it." This denial, coupled with a power imbalance, was exemplified by one student's account: “You can’t do anything about what I’m doing to you or what I’m saying in class because I have tenure, they’re going to believe me over you no matter who you go to talk to.’

Students also experienced a role reversal when they spoke up about oppression, with one professor suggesting, “I’m sorry but the classroom isn’t the space to start a confrontation,” implying that speaking out about oppression is the issue, not the oppressive act itself. These examples highlight professors’ wielding of power, as denials, attacks, and role reversals not only downplay the event and its impact but also convey a reluctance to address the issue.

Consistent with previous research on the use of DARVO in interpersonal relationships, our findings suggest that DARVO by institutional representatives can instill helplessness and, secondary to that, causes feelings of powerlessness and isolation in students. 

Numerous voices echoed a feeling of loneliness at their academic institutions. One of them said:

“I just had that feeling, or that question like what classes should I take next semester, what classes should I take so I won’t encounter the similar incident that could happen to me. Which professor on campus is not racist? And it’s just really sad to think about it because like there should be a safe environment where everyone can take whatever course they want based on their interest. But now as the student of color I need to think about like, which class should I take so I will feel safe, I will feel respected.”

DARVO isolates victims of interpersonal violence and marginalized students alike. Charged with overreacting to racist comments, forcing their gender identity on others, or hurting their college, participants tended to turn inward. Instead of focusing on the significant task of learning, forging friendships, and establishing belonging, marginalized students often distance themselves for self-preservation. DARVO operated as an implicit threat, discouraging marginalized students from voicing their pain, instead isolating and compromising their educational goals to prioritize safety and manage concerns about retaliation.

DARVO facilitates a power imbalance between students and the institution, amplifying the existing power differential. Marginalized students are then asked to fix the oppression from university campuses by having them showcased or educate others on their identities, adding a tremendous burden that is exhausting, isolating, and painful to experience. LGBTQI+ and Students of Color are not only burdened by systemic discrimination but also have to endure isolation, barriers, invisibility, and insufficient support from institutions at large. 

Editor's Note: The authors of this article were members of the research team of Marina Rosenthal and Kathryn LaBore, who are the Principal Investigators of the research study described in this article. Rosenthal and LaBore were funded by an Institutional Courage Research Grant from the Center for Institutional Courage.