Why Trump’s ‘vile’ attacks against Carroll after verdict could be ‘chilling for survivors’

Verdict has been hailed as victory, but sexual advocacy groups are condemning Trump's attacks against the decision and the writer, calling them dangerous and belittling to survivors

After a New York jury found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing advice columnist E Jean Carroll, sexual violence advocacy groups and experts are having mixed responses to the verdict, particularly in light of Trump's public attacks against the decision and Carroll, and as top Republicans have rushed to his defense.

Despite the verdict and the jury awarding about $5m in compensatory and punitive damages to Carroll, Trump and a handful of Republican lawmakers have remained defiant: a move which sexual violence experts have condemned as risking re-traumatizing survivors.