Why is it that every time a news story emerges about a woman who has been abused, our first instinct is to not believe her?

"Well, we don't know the whole story," some will say.

"She's just making it up as a ploy to get money," others will accuse.

Or if the abuser in question is a beloved celebrity, we say, "Him? I love him! He would never do something like that!"

Why do we come up with every excuse in the book instead of just taking the victim's side? The reality is only about two percent of rape accusations turn out to be false. The courage it takes for a woman to come forward and speak about her abuse is unfathomable. It could take months, sometimes years, for women to feel comfortable enough to talk to someone about it because women know that most of the time, no one will believe them.

I cannot even imagine what it must feel like to go through something so utterly traumatizing and then be called a liar and have your entire experience invalidated. If a woman says she was robbed we believe her in an instant, but why do we raise eyebrows when she says she was abused?

A most recent example of this is the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp story. Pictures of Heard with an ugly black eye began to pop up all over the internet, as she claimed to have been abused by her soon-to-be ex-husband Johnny Depp. Not only does Amber Heard have photographic evidence, she also has video evidence, multiple witnesses and was granted a restraining order. Yet the media will not believe her.

I recently came across a Daily News article condemning Amber Heard for smiling days after the incident. So now, if something bad ever happens to a woman, she is not allowed to smile ever or else that means she is lying. For the record, I would smile too if I just received a restraining order against my abusive ex-husband.

Ever wonder why 60 percent of rape cases and 70 percent of domestic violence cases go unreported? It's because the victims are the ones who get treated like they're on trial. Every single one of their actions is harshly scrutinized. They are picked apart, mocked, called "gold diggers" and "blackmailers" and "liars".

And when the 18-year-old girl who was raped at a college party goes on Twitter and sees that the man who raped Kesha will never spend a day in prison, she might decide to stay silent. Or when the 45-year-old woman whose husband beats her sees the names the media are calling Amber Heard, she might just decide to stay silent.

So the next time a woman comes forth about the abuse she's experienced, please just simply believe her.�