{"id":33125,"date":"2016-10-18T15:09:36","date_gmt":"2016-10-18T22:09:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/?page_id=33125"},"modified":"2016-10-18T15:10:46","modified_gmt":"2016-10-18T22:10:46","slug":"ritual-abuse","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/ritual-abuse\/","title":{"rendered":"Ritual Abuse"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"OldRitual abuse is a term used to describe the\u00a0psychological, physical<\/a>, or sexual abuse<\/a> of a person or group of people as part of a religious, cult, or secular ritual. This type of abuse is often\u00a0systematic and long-lasting.<\/p>\n

In some cases, “ritual abuse” may refer to satanic ritual abuse, the subject of a number of allegations made throughout the 1980s.<\/p>\n

What Is\u00a0Ritual Abuse?<\/h2>\n

Traditional\u00a0understandings of abuse generally emphasize\u00a0the desire of the person committing the abuse to control and dominate the victim and may also attempt to explain any\u00a0potential psychological issues experienced by the abusive person. Ritual abuse, however, is more commonly understood as a group undertaking, where the primary desire may\u00a0not be controlling the victim or victims or acting out the\u00a0desires\u00a0of the person committing\u00a0the abuse.\u00a0Instead, ritual abuse more typically\u00a0treats\u00a0the victim as a means to an end\u2014often\u00a0the receipt of some form of enlightenment or spiritual favor. Ritual abuse may also occur as a form of symbolism, or adherence to the code or sanctions of a particular group, such as a cult<\/a>. Human sacrifice, a recorded practice in\u00a0a number of civilizations throughout human history, is often considered the most dramatic form of ritual abuse.<\/p>\n

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A number of allegations of satanic ritual abuse, which included\u00a0molestation, animal sacrifice, and torture, were made by individuals, many of whom were very young\u00a0children, throughout the United States in the late twentieth century. These allegations often focused on owners of day care centers, and from the middle of the 1970s through the 1980s, many people were accused, tried, and convicted, though in several cases these convictions were later overturned after witness retractions and re-examination of evidence.<\/p>\n

Satanic Ritual Abuse<\/h2>\n

Between the mid-1970s and the 1990s, suspicion of ritual abuse, particularly that\u00a0committed by so-called\u00a0satanic cults, created a national panic in the United States. Several cases of satanic abuse were widely reported throughout the country, many of these describing the molestation and torture of young children at day care centers. In the\u00a0case of the McMartin Preschool,\u00a0dozens of children reported complex stories of abuse involving animal sacrifice, brutal sexual abuse, and even homicide.<\/p>\n

In many of the cases, those accused were convicted and imprisoned. However, after the victims recanted their statements and further investigation and examination of the evidence was conducted, most of the reported cases of satanic abuse were subsequently found to be false.\u00a0In the McMartin Preschool case, for example, all of the children were\u00a0interviewed by mental health professionals from the Children’s Institute International who asked them a number of leading questions. Many of the claims made by the children, such as\u00a0claims of travelling to other locations by airplane, could not have happened, and physical evidence did not, in the majority of cases, correspond to the events and abuse described.<\/p>\n

This misreporting of ritual abuse sparked a backlash against advocates for survivors of abuse and increased suspicion of claims of satanic abuse. Psychologists<\/a> have theorized a number of reasons that people would readily believe such fantastical claims, including parental guilt<\/a>\u00a0over\u00a0sending children to day care facilities. While widespread satanic abuse was largely disproven, and there is little evidence to show that it occurred in more than in a few isolated incidents across the country, there was evidence to show that some of those convicted did in fact abuse children in their care.<\/p>\n

Ritual Abuse in the United States<\/h2>\n

While\u00a0ritual abuse has been shown to\u00a0occur in the United States, it\u00a0is more likely to occur in the context of small religious sects and cults and in highly secretive and authoritarian families<\/a>. Abuse may continue through several generations of family members, or adult members of religious sects, as children grow up, become indoctrinated, and continue the pattern of abuse.<\/p>\n

Several well-known cults have been accused of ritualized abuse, particularly sexual abuse, starvation, and severe corporal punishment. For example, the Jonestown cult encouraged children to have sex with adults, and girls were often married to\u00a0men who were much older. David Koresh\u2019s Branch Davidians practiced plural marriage and married young children to adults. The Children of God cult, commonly called \u201cThe Family,\u201d engages in ritualized sex, and several ex-members have reported sexual abuse of preteen girls.<\/p>\n

Indicators of Ritual Abuse<\/h2>\n

Those who have experienced ritual abuse often\u00a0display signs of being affected by trauma<\/a>, and the effects of abuse may be long-term. Survivors may dissociate<\/a> and experience extreme reactions to events and situations that bear some similarity to situations in which they were abused. They may become either fascinated with certain ritualized objects or symbols or develop a phobia<\/a> of them.<\/p>\n

Among the symptoms some survivors might display are:<\/p>\n