Unbelievable: Victims of Retraumatization

"'Cause even with good people, even with people that you can kinda trust, if the truth is inconvenient, and if the truth doesn't, like, fit, they don't believe it." - Marie Adler Ep. 7

A couple of nights ago, I was bored and looking for something to watch. I caught myself on a true-crime binge and eventually stumbled upon Unbelievable on Netflix. I'm generally terrible at finishing shows if the first fifteen minutes aren't captivating enough, but this show definitely held my attention. From the very beginning, the writers and director make sure to place you in Marie Adler's shoes and understand how harsh the due process can be for victims of sexual assault.

The story begins with Marie waiting to be interviewed by the local police. She had just experienced a break-in and sexual assault in the early hours of the morning and decides to report the encounter to the police. Through this process, we can see Marie slowly beginning to break down.

One element that I find especially jarring, in the first episode, is how often she is forced to recount the details of her assault. First, twice during the initial investigation, then during her hospital examination and finally twice more at the police station. In just one day, Marie is forced to revisit a very fresh wound more than three times.

Because of this process, her memory gets worse and eventually causes her to look suspicious to her loved ones and the detectives on her case. Unfortunately, misremembering trauma is more common then most people realize. Because of popular crime shows, many people have a preconceived notion that if an accuser's statements are inconsistent than they must be lying.

This thought process couldn't be further from the truth. People's memories are actually the least accurate form of relaying events. There are dozens of cases where someone says one thing and later the verdict shows the opposite. This process happens because our brain is capable of manipulating our memories to fit the details we are unable to absorb during the event.

In connection with Marie Adler, the frequency of the questioning process allowed her brain various opportunities to change the details of her assault. Detective Parker definitely did not know this and this caused him to convince her to retract her initial accusation. This causes a tremendous amount of issues for Marie Adler, of course, but this was an important element of her story because it shows the importance of patience and compassion when dealing with victims of trauma.

"This is something they carry with them forever, like a bullet in the spine." - Karen Duval Ep. 3

One beautiful thing the show does is use Detective Karen Duvall to juxtapose Detective Parker. The viewer is able to see what a competent and driven detective would do when faced with a similar situation and automatically makes it impossible for us to sympathize with Detective Parker. The whole time we root for Marie Adler because she is the underdog.

Unfortunately, real life isn't like the movies and so we go through all the downs she experiences because of this fallout. The way the show illustrates the repercussions of reporting sexual assault are extremely realistic and bleak. This portrayal is important because people put victims in one of two boxes: the one who deserved it and the one who is damaged forever.

Marie is automatically placed in the first category because of her past behaviors and indiscretions. Unbelievable show that these things do not matter when looking at victims of assault. We are forced to look in the mirror and see the effects of placing victims of sexual assault on trial rather than giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Unbelievable was one of the toughest watches because of how dark it was, but it handled the conversation surrounding sexual assault better than any program I've seen. I would definitely recommend taking the time and giving the show a try. I left the last episode with a bittersweet taste in my mouth, but it reminded me that this is real life and life definitely isn't a fairytale.