According to Margaret Edwards, program director of counseling and wellness services at the UVA Women’s Center, these responses are indeed part of a re-traumatization process. The victim-shaming that came with Kavanaugh’s appointment has likely had a serious psychological impact. “Lack of understanding, when exacerbated by general lack of respect and empathy for others, reignites the worst aspects of trauma for anyone who has ever experienced it,” Edwards wrote.