In assist of Amber Heard: Dozens of feminist organizations signal open letter – Nationwide

5 months after the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard trial, greater than 130 organizations and people have signed an open letter in assist of Heard.

The letter, which was launched Wednesday, voiced sturdy sympathy and encouragement for Heard, 36, who misplaced a high-profile defamation go well with in opposition to Depp, her ex-husband, in June. Depp, 59, sued Heard over a Washington Put up op-ed by which she referred to herself as a “public determine representing home abuse.”

Dozens of girls’s rights organizations, together with the Nationwide Ladies’s Legislation Heart, Esperanza United and Futures With out Violence, signed the open letter. Quite a few medical doctors, attorneys and lecturers additionally independently signed, together with creator and activist Gloria Steinem.

The letter was penned by a gaggle of people that declare to be survivors of home violence. Within the letter, they referenced the “vilification” of Heard and her supporters as a phenomenon that has “been unprecedented in each vitriol and scale.”

All through the six-week livestreamed trial, Heard was closely mocked and shamed by staunch Depp supporters. Social media was flooded with outrage over the actor’s allegations of home violence by the hands of Depp. (In court docket, Depp claimed he was the true sufferer of home violence.)

“A lot of this harassment was fueled by disinformation, misogyny, biphobia, and a monetized social media atmosphere the place a lady’s allegations of home violence and sexual assault had been mocked for leisure,” the letter reads.

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Jury awards Johnny Depp $15 million in damages in defamation go well with in opposition to Amber Heard

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The open letter claimed this public shaming of the Aquaman actor is harmful for different survivors of home abuse seeking to converse out.

“In our opinion, the Depp v. Heard verdict and continued discourse round it point out a elementary misunderstanding of intimate associate and sexual violence and the way survivors reply to it,” the letter reads.

The letter resulted in condemnation of “the general public shaming of Amber Heard.”

In a press launch, Emma Katz, an creator and home abuse researcher who signed the open letter, stated “behaviors which can be widespread to survivors had been relentlessly mocked and misunderstood” in the course of the trial.

“These widespread survivor behaviors, together with overlaying accidents with make-up and leaving your abuser then arranging to fulfill with them once more – had been broadly condemned as indicators of deception,” she stated within the press launch.

She continued: “Many survivors watched these public conversations unfold with dread, because the query ‘will I be believed if I come ahead’ appeared to be met with a powerful ‘no’.”

On Twitter, Katz and a number of other different signees stated they had been “proud” to have signed the open letter.

Following the Depp v. Heard trial, a seven-person jury dominated in favour of Depp and awarded the actor US$10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.

Heard was awarded $2 million in a beneficial ruling on considered one of her three countersuit claims. Within the countersuit, Heard and her attorneys alleged Depp was “vicariously liable” for 3 statements made by the actor’s former lawyer, Adam Waldman, to British tabloid The Every day Mail.

This month, Depp launched an enchantment of Heard’s partial win, alleging the decision in favour of his ex-wife was “inaccurate.”

In October, Heard additionally filed a short laying the groundwork for an enchantment.

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In the event you or somebody you already know has been a sufferer of intimate associate violence or is concerned in an abusive scenario, please go to the Canadian Useful resource Centre for Victims of Crime for assist. They’re additionally reachable toll-free at 1-877-232-2610.

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