Warning: This article discusses rape and domestic violence.
This year several high-profile celebrities who had allegations made against them about sexual or physical abuse against women died, sparking numerous public tributes. But those eulogies can have a devastating impact on survivors of such abuse.
For survivors of sexual or domestic violence the accolades can feel like "a total obliteration of their victimisation", according to Women's Refuge CEO Dr Ang Jury.
This doesn't just affect the celebrities' victims but can also be damaging for everyday men and women who have experienced abuse.
Dr Jury said reading endless comments online praising abusive people or hearing co-workers singing abusive celebrity's praises can be confusing and distressing for victims.
Counsellor and trauma expert Suzi Wallis agrees, saying people could be triggered by the comments without realising and experience emotions that seem "out of context for the current situation".
"They might not even recognise that they have been triggered until the body starts to do something strange.
"For people who have had trauma it is often activated in the amygdala - the fight, flight or freeze part of the brain - so the first awareness they might have is that they might be reacting to something that other people don't react to.
"It can be very confusing and if they're not in a situation where they feel safe at that time, or it's not a place they can have a chat to someone or make sense of it, then they have to hold it."
The issue was highlighted by the deaths of Sean Connery, Kobe Bryant and Diego Maradona this year.
All these men were celebrated for their contributions to their field but very little was mentioned about the accusations against them of sexual and domestic violence.
Byrant's tributes were widespread and any mention of his sexual assault case was met with extreme aggression on social media.
Bryant was a professional basketball player who was widely regarded as one of the great players of all time. He spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers.
After he died in a helicopter crash, numerous celebrities paid tribute to him including Barack Obama, Donald Trump, LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo and Jimmy Fallon.
But none of the tributes mentioned when he was credibly accused of raping a hotel worker in Colorado in 2003.
Byrant denied the claim but later settled and apologised to the woman saying, "Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognise now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did."
Shortly after he died, Washington Post journalist Felicia Sonmez tweeted about his historical sexual assault case.
Her tweet was met with hostility and she was suspended from work with the newspaper saying her "poor judgment" in sharing the story had undermined her colleagues' work.
While Sonmez was later reinstated, after hundreds of her colleagues came to her defence, she was still forced to deal with death threats and abuse with very little support from her employer.
Connery, who was best known for playing fictional British secret agent James Bond, also received glowing tributes after his death despite allegations of abuse.
The Scottish actor starred in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. He received numerous awards for his films including an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes.
In 1987 he was honoured as a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in France and was given the US Kennedy Center Honors lifetime achievement award in 1999. In 2000 he was knighted in the New Year Honours.
After his death celebrities including John Cleese, Viola Davis, Elizabeth Hurley, Michael McKean and Hugh Jackman all paid tribute to the actor.
But his tributes failed to mention his ex-wife Australian actor Diane Cilento's accusations that he mentally and physically abused her throughout their 11-year marriage.
Connery has also made several controversial comments about hitting women, including in an interview in 1987.
"I don't think it's good [to slap a woman]. I don't think it's that bad. I think it depends entirely on the circumstances and if it merits it," he said during the interview.
It's not the only time the actor has supported abusing women, during an interview in 1965 he said he didn't "think there is anything particularly wrong about hitting a woman - although I don't recommend doing it in the same way that you'd hit a man".
"An open-handed slap is justified if all other alternatives fail and there has been plenty of warning. If a woman is a bitch, or hysterical, or bloody-minded continually, then I'd do it."
Maradona was an Argentine football player and manager who was regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.
As the captain for Argentina, he won the 1986 World Cup, beating West Germany in the final. En route to the final he scored the controversial 'Hand of God' goal against England before scoring what is widely regarded as the greatest World Cup goal of all time in the same game.
He then led his country to the 1990 final in Italy, where they were beaten by West Germany, before captaining them again in the US in 1994, but was sent home after failing a drugs test for ephedrine.
His issues with substance abuse were well documented and he was banned in 1991 for 15 months after testing positive for cocaine.
After his death Maradona received widespread tributes and as celebrities and everyday people alike hailed the footballer for his athletic prowess, there was very little mention of his abuse of his ex-wife
The abuse allegations relate to a video which first aired on an Argentine TV channel six years ago. The video appears to show the footballer hitting and shouting at his then-girlfriend, former professional football player, Rocio Oliva.
After the video aired Maradona denied hitting Oliva saying, "I grabbed the phone but I swear to God that I have never hit a woman." But it wasn't' the first time he had been accused of abusing her. Another incident on a plane was backed up by dozens of witnesses who saw Maradona grab Oliva by the neck.
Despite the accusations, numerous celebrities paid tribute to the footballer including Liam Gallagher, Brian May, Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham.
Dr Jury said this praise could have a huge impact on victims of violence and abuse and stressed the importance of not sugarcoating someone's history just because they are dead.
Along with making victims feel unimportant, the praise can play into a culture of fear that stops people from speaking out about their experiences, she said.
"When they see someone really high profile being praised and held up as the paragon of all things wonderful, if you are somebody who has been abused by someone who is in a high profile position, you would be looking at that and thinking, 'there's no point because no one is going to believe me if I tell them what happened'."
She said the response to allegations of abuse online, especially when they are levelled at celebrities, can be "appealing".
While social media can be a powerful avenue for people to open up about their abuse, Dr Jury said it can also be a place of vicious "pile-ons".
"It's insidious and it's really nasty. I am all for free and open discourse and conversation, I think it's the only way we create change but there seems to be no filter on social media.
"It can be empowering for the [victims] but the pile on when they criticise somebody well-liked or famous is just astonishing, and it can't help but be harmful."
It's a viewpoint shared by Wallis, who says seeing abusers' lives being celebrated can be re-traumatising for survivors.
"It can have multiple layers of impact both for the survivors of the abuse from those particular people, but also people who have had abuse in other areas even from high profile people more locally."
"It stops a lot of people speaking out. They get programmed into thinking that they won't be believed or that they will be in trouble if they do.
"Often when people speak up they get vilified so it can feed into that feeling of hopelessness and the thought that 'there is no point and that I have to live with this and figure it out myself' and that's a really lonely place to live."
Why is there such an intense online response to the mention of celebrities' abuse?
There are several reasons why people take such issue with abuse being brought up after someone has died. One of the main reasons is the idea that people "somehow turn into saints once they have passed, regardless of how awful they might have been when they were alive", Dr Jury said.
Another is that sometimes people simply don't believe that the abuse happened.
"Because things like domestic violence happen in private, it is very much based on the credibility of either party," Dr Jury said.
"One thing people talk about a lot is that their abuser is or was the life and soul of the party, charming and a really good bloke."
"People don't like to believe that someone who is a good bloke or really, really nice in public can actually do that, they simply don't want to believe it."
In other cases, like Sean Connery's comments about abusing women, people might feel that they aren't relevant because it happened such a long time ago, she said.
"People think maybe it [the abuse] wasn't terribly important or... in Sean Connery's case the comments that he was criticised for were years and years and years ago - that's not to say that he [didn't] hold those views when he died, he may well have.
"But a lot of people would say, 'he's done his time, leave him alone. That shouldn't detract from what a great guy he was'.
"People see abuse as an episode - a once-off but what we know is that domestic violence is hardly ever a one-off.
Wallis said no one needs to stop paying tribute to famous people when they die, but being realistic and including all parts of their past, even the bad stuff, can mitigate the effect it has on victims of abuse.
For victims, Wallis said it's important to remember that if something upsets you there is help available and that it's not a "step backwards", even if it feels like one.
Where to find help and support:
- Shine (domestic violence) - 0508 744 633
- Women's Refuge - 0800 733 843 (0800 REFUGE)
- Need to Talk? - Call or text 1737
- What's Up - 0800 WHATS UP (0800 942 8787)
- Lifeline - 0800 543 354 or (09) 5222 999 within Auckland
- Youthline - 0800 376 633, text 234, email talk@youthline.co.nz or online chat
- Samaritans - 0800 726 666
- Depression Helpline - 0800 111 757
- Suicide Crisis Helpline - 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO)
- Shakti Community Council - 0800 742 584
