Ritual Abuse

Introduction

This term has been defined in a variety of ways by different authors and researchers. One definition developed for a study of abuse in child daycare defined ritual abuse as "abuse that occurs in a context linked to some symbols or group activity that have a religious, magical, or supernatural connotation and where the invocation of these symbols or activities, repeated over time, is used to frighten and intimidate the children." Finkelhor, D., & Meyers, L. M., Nursery Crimes: Sexual Abuse in Day Care, p. 59.

Another definition developed by the Los Angeles Commission for Women (1989) refers to ritual abuse as, "A brutal form of abuse of children, adolescents, and adults, consisting of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, and involving the use of rituals. Ritual does not necessarily mean satanic. However, most survivors state that they were ritually abused as part of satanic worship for the purpose of indoctrinating them into satanic beliefs and practices. Ritual abuse rarely consists of a single episode. It usually involves repeated abuse over an extended period of time." Report of the Ritual Abuse Task Force, Los Angeles County Commission for Women, 1991, p. 1.

At the present time there is tremendous controversy about the objective reality of ritual abuse. While some clinicians, researchers, and police believe that ritual abuse occurs, others do not. They believe that reports of ritual abuse are part of a mass hysteria fed by media accounts and talk show programs. There is no consensus about the reality and/or extent of ritual abuse. (Sidran Foundation website).

Unfortunately, I, however, know ritual abuse occurs. I've survived it. The ritual abuse I experienced was not done to worship any deity, but rather as an excuse to torture, terrify, kill, and engage in perverted sex acts at will.

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