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This resource traces legal and research discussions of rape trauma syndrome, including court decisions about when expert testimony may explain counterintuitive behavior and when it risks bolstering credibility. It also summarizes research on coping and trauma symptoms and presents critiques of using the syndrome as a diagnosis or as evidence that a particular sexual encounter lacked consent.
This brief history surveys changing forms of expert testimony used to explain behaviors that jurors may regard as unexpected after sexual assault, from rape-trauma concepts to later counterintuitive-behavior claims. It describes examples such as delayed or piecemeal disclosure, continued contact, inconsistent memories, and recantation, and cautions that overstating general explanations can create problems when experts are questioned.
