“There’s this idea that if you use force, you’re not a victim; if you defend yourself, you’re not a victim,” Kertesz says.

It’s a particular problem, she says, for women who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders: “They’re made to look like a perpetrator, when actually most of their experience [in that relationship] has been as victims.”

Padma Raman, CEO of Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety, says these ideas of the “perfect victim” are incredibly pervasive – despite a growing acknowledgment and understanding of the overall issue of violence against women.

“Our National Community Attitudes survey has shown an increase in the recognition of domestic violence … [but an overall mistrust of women is] still very, very strong,” she says.

“There’s this notion that women have ulterior motives for reporting either sexual or family violence and I think those perceptions draw on really problematic attitudes that stereotype women as untrustworthy, deceitful and motivated by greed.”

That same survey, conducted in 2017, found that 42 per cent of Australians think it’s common for women to use sexual assault allegations as a way of “getting back at men” (whereas in reality, false allegations are incredibly rare).

A follow-up report on this issue, published in 2021, found that these attitudes persisted. In fact, when presented with a story outlining a woman’s allegation of sexual assault in a news article one participant in the study called to “chuck her on the lie detector”, provoking “sniggering laughter” from others in the room.

“This reflects the inherent assumption that women lie,” the report reads. “And, moreover, the flippancy and disrespect with which victims and survivors can be treated when disclosing or reporting their victimisation.”

While the MeToo movement has empowered many victim-survivors to tell their stories in the past few years, these attitudes and behaviours have persisted – and in some cases been inflamed by what some (generally men) perceive as an unfair shift in cultural and political power.

Earlier this year, an Ipsos study found that one in four Australians believe feminism “does more harm than good”. And this sentiment has been tangible in rhetoric around the Depp v Heard trial.

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In his statement after the verdict, Depp wrote, “I hope that the position will now return to innocent until proven guilty, both within the courts and in the media.”

Raman notes that Depp has had a huge network of support during this trial – two young women in her family, both avid feminists, believed him too – but she says it can be dangerous drawing too many conclusions from one case.

“I think the bigger problem is: what does this do in terms of women who are already reluctant to seek support or report [allegations of abuse]?”

“Just over half of women who’ve experienced violence by a current partner have sought advice or support, and 82 per cent have never contacted the police.”

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CEO of Our Watch Patty Kinnersly shares these concerns, saying: “The silencing of victim-survivors often goes hand-in-hand with their abuse and control.”

“Now, more than ever, we need to remind victim-survivors that we see them, we hear them and we believe them.”