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The Conversation
The Conversation
Michele Patterson Ford, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Dickinson College

Sexual assault survivors’ stories may shift over time – a psychologist explains why it doesn’t mean they’re lying

A majority of rape survivors don't immediately recognize what they experienced as rape. Ryan Murphy/Getty Images

If a person’s story changes in the weeks following an alleged sexual assault, are they not telling the truth?

It’s a criticism I’ve seen on social media and heard in the public conversation surrounding the lawsuit filed in September 2026 by a plaintiff known as Jane Doe, a former student at Cornell University, accusing seven male students of rape.

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