Satanic ritual abuse 80402 226179237 2008-07-17T04:59:23Z ResearchEditor 5173102 fix typo {{Articleissues | unbalanced = June 2008 | pov = June 2008}} '''Satanic ritual abuse''' ('''SRA''') refers to reports of [[Physical abuse|physical]] and [[sexual abuse]] of individuals, generally children or adults reporting on memories of childhood abuse, in the context of [[Satanism|Satanic]] [[ritual]]s. Allegations of SRA first appeared in the early 1980s, arising mainly in the [[United States]] and [[United Kingdom]] and to a lesser extent other parts of the world. The definitions and extent of SRA are [[Controversy|controversial]] as the reports of it are based mostly on testimonials and [[repressed memory|recovered memories]]. SRA allegations appearing in the media, the courts and in therapy have been described as a [[moral panic]]. SRA impacted how legal, therapeutic and social work professions dealt with allegations of abuse. Allegations of and treatment for SRA has been linked to [[dissociative identity disorder]]. ==Definitions== The term "satanic ritual abuse" is used to describe different behaviors, actions and allegations that lie between extremes of definitions.<ref>{{cite book |author=Edge, Peter W. |title=Legal Responses to Religious Difference |publisher=Springer |location=Berlin |year=2001 |pages= |isbn=90-411-1678-8 |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=}}</ref> In a 1988 [[United States]] national study on sexual abuse in [[Day care sex abuse hysteria|day care agencies]], a three-fold typology was devised to describe 'ritual abuse' - cult-based ritualism in which the abuse had a spiritual or social goal for the perpetrators, pseudo-ritualism in which the goal was sexual gratification and the rituals were used to frighten or intimidate victims, and [[Psychopathology|psychopathological]] ritualism in which the rituals were due to [[mental disorder]]s.<ref name = Finkelhor>{{Citation | last = Finkelhor | first = D | coauthors = Williams LM; Burns N; Kalinowski, M | year = 1988 | url = http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED292552 | format = PDF | title = Executive Summary - Sexual Abuse in Day Care: A National Study | publisher = University of New Hampshire, Family Research Laboritory | id = Eric # ED292552 | accessdate = 2008-06-11}}</ref> Subsequent investigators have expanded on these definitions and also pointed to a fourth alleged type of satanic ritual abuse, in which petty crimes with ambiguous meaning (such as [[graffiti]] or [[vandalism]]) generally committed by teenagers were attributed to the actions of satanic cults. By the early 1990s, the phrase "satanic ritual abuse" was featured in media coverage of ritualistic abuse but its use decreased among professionals in favour of more nuanced terms such as multi-dimensional child sex rings,<ref name = Lanning>{{citation | format = PDF | language = english | first = Kenneth V. | last = Lanning | title = Investigator's Guide to Allegations of "Ritual" Childhood Abuse | year = 1992 }}; {{waybackdate | site = http://www.pointnet.ca/media/igtaorca.pdf | date = 20031025012607}}</ref> ritual/ritualistic abuse,<ref>{{cite book |author=Hudson, Pamela S. |title=Ritual child abuse: discovery, diagnosis, and treatment |publisher=R&E Publishers |location=Saratoga, Calif |year=1991 |pages= |isbn=0882478672 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref> organised abuse<ref name=Bibby>{{cite book |author=Bibby, Peter A. |title=Organised Abuse: The Current Debate |publisher=Arena |location=Aldershot, England |year= |pages= |isbn=1-85742-284-8 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref> or sadistic abuse,<ref name = VS/> that acknowledged the complexity of abuse cases with multiple perpetrators and victims without projecting a religious framework onto perpetrators. Conclusions on the origins of allegations of cult-based abuse can include actual abuse by organized groups, pseudosatanism, distortions and false memories, mental illness resulting in false reporting, deliberate lying or hoaxes and in the cases of child testimonies, allegations may be artifacts of the questioning techniques used. Groups supporting the reality of SRA allegations and those criticizing them as unsubstantiated has resulted in an extremely polarized discussion with little middle ground.<ref name = Fraser>{{cite book | last = Fraser | first = GA | publisher = American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. | year = 1997 | title = The Dilemma of Ritual Abuse: Cautions and Guides for Therapists | url = http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=4CMHRXz5qsQC&oi=fnd&pg=PA105&dq=%22Satanic+ritual+abuse:+First+research+and+therapeutic+implications+%22&ots=fvhQTrI3VM&sig=dQ7xMtDqXydtjMw42Ex6fC0WaIY#PPA105,M1 | pages = 105-117 | isbn = 0880484780 }}</ref><ref name = Edge362/> In addition, the ambiguity of a lack of evidence (either indicating no crime took place or an effective conspiracy), the religious beliefs of the disputants (both atheistic and Christian world-views result in different interpretations of evidence) and the labeling of outright rejection of claims as "anti-child" have aggravated the polarization of the discussion.<ref name = Edge362/> ===Cult-based abuse=== Allegations of cult-based abuse is the most extreme scenario of SRA.<ref name = Edge362>Edge, 2001, p. 362-363.</ref> During the initial period of interest from the early 80s the term was used to describe a network of [[Satan]]-worshiping, intergenerational cults that were described as a [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy]] of highly organized and secretive, engaging in criminal behaviors such as forced [[prostitution]], [[Illegal drug trade|drug distribution]] and [[pornography]], who also sexually abuse and [[torture]] children in order to coerce them into a lifetime of [[Theistic Satanism|Devil worship]]<ref name=dojcan>{{cite web|url=http://www.acjnet.org/docs/famvidoj.html |title=Family Violence in Rural, Farm and Remote Canada |authors=The Canadian Farm Women's Network |publisher=Department of Justice Canada |date=[[March 3]], [[1995]]}}</ref><ref>Victor, 1993, p. 3-4.</ref> Allegations also included [[necrophilia]], forced ingestion of [[semen]], [[blood]] and [[feces]], [[cannibalism]], [[infanticide]], satanic police officers who cover up SRA crimes and desecration of graves and Christian rituals.<ref name = Edge362/> No evidence of these claims has ever been found;<ref>Victor, 1993, p. 3-4</ref> the proof presented by those who alleged the reality of cult-based abuse primarily consisted of the memories of adults recalling childhood abuse, the testimony of young children and "extremely controversial confessions".<ref name = Edge362/> In 1987, [[Geraldo Rivera]] produced a national television special on these alleged secret cults, claiming "Estimates are that there are over one million Satanists in [the United States and they are] linked in a highly organized, secretive network."<ref>Victor, 1993, p. 32-33</ref> Tapings of this and similar talk show episodes are subsequently used by [[Fundamentalism|religious fundamentalists]], [[Psychotherapy|psychotherapist]], [[social work]]ers and police to promote the idea that a conspiracy of satanic cults existed and was actually involved in serious crimes.<ref>Victor, 1993, p. 45, 69, 166, 254 & 343.</ref> The idea of a murderous satanic conspiracy was a controversy that divided the professional [[child abuse]] community though no evidence has been found to support allegations of a large number of children being killed or abused in satanic rituals.<ref name=Putnam1991>{{cite journal | author = Putnam, F.W. | year = 1991 | title = The Satanic Ritual Abuse Controversy. | journal = Child Abuse and Neglect: The International Journal | volume = 15 | issue = 3 | pages = 175–79 | url = http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/recordDetail?accno=EJ429989 | accessdate = 2008-06-10 | doi = 10.1016/0145-2134(91)90062-I}}</ref> From a law enforcement perspective, an intergenerational conspiracy dedicated to ritual sacrifice whose members remain completely silent, make no mistakes and leave no [[physical evidence]] is unlikely; cases of actual cult sacrifices (such as the 1989 case of [[Adolfo Constanzo]]) have supported this idea.<ref name = Lanning/> ===Pseudo-satanism=== Satanic ritual abuse is also used to describe the actions of "pseudo-satanists" who [[Sexual abuse|sexually abuse]] children and use the trappings of satanic rituals and claims of magical powers to coerce and terrify victims but do not believe in the rituals.<ref name = Utah/><ref name = Lanning2>{{cite book | last = Lanning | first = K | title = Satanic Ritual Abuse of Children Is Not Widespread | editor = Bender D; Leone, B | publisher = Greenhaven Press, Inc | date = 1994 | series = Opposing Viewpoints Series | url = http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Search/Abstracts.aspx?id=159841&library=Publications_Lib&query=%26lt%3BRecordset%26gt%3B%26lt%3BLibrary%20name%3D%26quot%3BPublications_Lib%26quot%3B%26gt%3B%26lt%3BField%20name%3D%26quot%3BDOC_BODY%26quot%3B%26gt%3B%26lt%3BQuery%26gt%3B%26lt%3B%21%5BCDATA%5BLanning%5D%5D%26gt%3B%26lt%3B/Query%26gt%3B%26lt%3B/Field%26gt%3B%26lt%3BField%20name%3D%26quot%3Bis_full_text%26quot%3B%26gt%3B%26lt%3BQuery%26gt%3B%26lt%3B%21%5BCDATA%5BN%5D%5D%26gt%3B%26lt%3B/Query%26gt%3B%26lt%3B/Field%26gt%3B%26lt%3B/Library%26gt%3B%26lt%3B/Recordset%26gt%3B|accessdate=2008-04-29}}</ref><ref name = Lanning/> A survey of more than 12,000 SRA allegations found no substantiating evidence for an intergenerational conspiracy though there were several examples of pseudo-satanists.<ref name = NCCAN>{{cite web|title=Proof Lacking for Ritual Abuse by Satanists|author= Goleman D | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B02EEDD1E3FF932A05753C1A962958260&scp=1&sq=satanic+ritual+abuse&st=nyt | date = 1994-10-31 | publisher = [[The New York Times]] | accessdate = 2008-06-07}}</ref> ===Criminal and delusional satanism=== A third variation of ritual abuse involves non-religious ritual abuse in which the rituals were [[delusion]]al or [[obsessive compulsive disorder|obsessive]].<ref name = Finkelhor/> There are incidents of extreme sadistic crimes that are committed by individuals, loosely organized families and possibly in some organized cults, some of which may be connected to Satanism, though this is more likely to be related to sex ring trafficking; though SRA may happen in families, extended families and regional groups, it is not believed to occur in large, organized groups.<ref name="isbn0393702545 "/> ===Acting out=== Ambiguous crimes in which actual or erroneously believed symbols of satanism appear have also been claimed as part of the SRA phenomenon, though in most cases the crimes cannot be linked to a specific belief system; minor crimes such as vandalism, trespassing and graffiti were often found to be the actions of teenagers who were acting out.<ref name="pmid1471565">{{cite journal |author=Belitz J, Schacht A |title=Satanism as a response to abuse: the dynamics and treatment of satanic involvement in male youths |journal=Adolescence |volume=27 |issue=108 |pages=855–72 |year=1992 |pmid=1471565 |doi= |url= |accessdate=2008-06-07}}</ref><ref name="pmid8356163">{{cite journal |author=Young WC |title=Sadistic ritual abuse. An overview in detection and management |journal=Prim. Care |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=447–58 |year=1993 |month=June |pmid=8356163 |doi= |url= |accessdate=2008-06-07}}</ref><ref name="pmid1962303">{{cite journal |author=Ahmed MB |title=High-risk adolescents and satanic cults |journal=Tex Med |volume=87 |issue=10 |pages=74–6 |year=1991 |month=October |pmid=1962303 |doi= |url= |accessdate=2008-06-07}}</ref> Allegations of alleged victims that were obtained from mental health practitioners also occurred, but lacked verifiable evidence, were [[anecdotal evidence|anecdotal]] and involved incidents that were years or decades old.<ref>{{citation | title = Final Report of the Task Force Studying Ritual Crime | publisher = Crime Commission Task Force Studying Ritual Criminal Activity | location = Richmond, VA | year = 1991 }}; cited in Victor, 1993, p. 263-264</ref> ==History== The phrase "satanic ritual abuse" first arose in the mid-1980s to describe the disclosures of some children in child protection cases, and some adults in [[psychotherapy]]. In the early 1980s there was an exponential increase in child protection investigations in [[United States|America]], [[United Kingdom|Britain]] and other developed countries due to [[mandatory reporting]] laws and increased public awareness of [[child abuse]]. In a small number of investigations, children disclosed alleged organised and ritualistic forms of [[sexual abuse]] by parents and caregivers,<ref>{{cite book |author=Hechler, David |title=The Battle and the Backlash: The Child Sexual Abuse War |publisher=Macmillan Pub Co |location= |year= |pages= |isbn=0-669-21362-4 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref><ref name=Cozolino1989>{{cite journal | author = Cozolino, L. | year = 1989 | title = The ritual abuse of children: Implications for clinical practice and research | journal = The Journal of Sex Research | volume = 26 | issue = 1 | pages = 131–138}}</ref> claims also made by adults in psychotherapy.<ref name=Van1990>{{cite journal | author = Van Benschoten, S.C. | year = 1990 | title = Multiple personality disorder and satanic ritual abuse: The issue of credibility | journal = Dissociation | volume = 1 | issue = 3 | pages = 13–20 | url = https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/dspace/bitstream/1794/1492/1/Diss_3_1_5_OCR.pdf | accessdate = 2008-06-11|format=PDF}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Conte, Jon R. |title=Critical issues in child sexual abuse: historical, legal, and psychological perspectives |publisher=Sage Publications |location=Thousand Oaks |year=2002 |pages= |isbn=0761909125 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref> These disclosures included descriptions of sexual abuse in the context of Satanic cults, rituals and the use of Satanic iconography, garnering the label "satanic ritual abuse" in the media and some professionals. Clinicians, psychotherapists and social workers have documented clients who describe a history of SRA<ref name = VS>{{cite book |last = Sinason | first = V |title=Treating survivors of satanist abuse |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |year=1994 |pages= |isbn=0-415-10543-9 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref><ref name=Jonker1991>{{cite journal | author = Jonker, F. | coauthors = Jonker-bakker, P. | year = 1991 | title = Experiences with ritualist child sexual abuse: a case study from the Netherlands | journal = Child Abuse and Neglect | volume = 15 | pages = 191–196 | url = http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/recordDetail?accno=EJ429991 | accessdate = 2007-10-20 | pmid =2043971 | doi = 10.1016/0145-2134(91)90064-K}}</ref> though the claims of therapists are often unsubstantiated beyond the testimonies of their clients.<ref name = Lanning/><ref>Victor, 1993, p. 86-87</ref> The first claim known to link Satanism with ritualistic child abuse was made in the "survivor" story, ''[[Michelle Remembers]]'', published in 1980, written by [[Michelle Smith (author)|Michelle Smith]] and her psychiatrist (and later husband) [[Lawrence Pazder]].<ref>Victor, 1993, p. 14</ref> The book, along with other survivor stories, are suspected to have influenced later allegations of SRA and the book was used by prosecutors and police while preparing cases of [[Day care sex abuse hysteria|day care sexual abuse]]. Smith and other survivors also met with parents involved in the [[McMartin preschool trial]] and it is believed that Smith influenced testimony against the accused.<ref>Victor, 1993, p. 15</ref> [[Michelle_Remembers#Criticism_and_debunking|Investigations]] of the events discussed in the book revealed inconsistencies and contradictory facts which challenge the book's accuracy.<ref name="Mail on Sunday">{{cite news |author = Denna Allen and Janet Midwinter |title = Michelle Remembers: The Debunking of a Myth |work = [[The Mail on Sunday]] |date = [[September 30]] [[1990]]}}</ref> Skeptics have argued that Michelle Remembers is largely responsible for the "epidemic" of SRA allegations,<ref name="wenegrat1">{{cite book| title = Theater of Disorder: Patients, Doctors, and the Construction of Illness| last = Wenegrat| first = Brant| publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]| year = 2001| page = 190-192}}</ref><ref name="Charles">{{cite book| chapter = The Assessment and Investigation of Ritual Abuse| last = Grant| first = Charles| title = True and False Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse: Assessment and Case Management| last = Ney| first = Tara| publisher = Psychology Press | year = 1995| page = 304}}</ref> though sociologists<ref>Victor, 1993, p. 75-76; 280-286</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last= Kent |first= Stephen |year= 1993 |title= Deviant Scripturalism and Ritual Satanic Abuse Part One: Possible Judeo-Christian Influences |journal= Religion |issue= 23 |pages= 229–241 |doi= 10.1006/reli.1993.1021 |volume= 23}}</ref> have noted similarities between SRA and stories of [[blood libel]] throughout history. For David Frankfurter, the SRA panic repeated many of the ancient features of conspiracy theory panics.<ref name=Frankfurter2001/> Some researchers have stated that saying there is no evidence of an international Satanic conspiracy misstates the facts, that many people allege they have seen the components of a conspiracy and these eyewitness reports do form evidence. However, the veracity of this evidence needs to be examined further<ref name = Noblitt>{{cite book | coauthors = Perskin PS | last = Noblitt | first = JR |title=Cult and ritual abuse: its history, anthropology, and recent discovery in contemporary America |publisher= [[Greenwood Publishing Group|Praeger]] |location=New York |year=2000 |pages= |isbn=0-275-96665-8 |oclc= |doi= | url = http://books.google.ca/books?id=zJkTTpfyJ-8C&pg=PA55&lpg=PA55&dq=%22Cult+and+Ritual+Abuse%22+review+Noblitt&source=web&ots=HqVP62bmT0&sig=kgWbtzd-cWK0DNSPw_rls8q506Q&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result | accessdate = 2008-06-27}}</ref> and it is possible that intergenerational satanists do exist and they justify their actions through a religious, satanic framework.<ref name=Kent1993>{{cite journal | author = Kent, S.A. | year = 1993 | title = Deviant scripturalism and ritual satanic abuse. II: Possible Masonic, Mormon, Magick, and Pagan influences | journal = Religion | volume = 23 | issue = 4 | pages = 355–367 | url = http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=4293402 | doi = 10.1006/reli.1993.1029}}</ref> Evidence for the existence of SRA generally takes the form of testimony by individuals making allegations.<ref name = Utah>{{cite web | url = http://www.saferchildren.net/print/utahrataskforce.pdf | date= 1992-05-01 | accessdate = 2007-11-26 | title = Report of Utah State Task Force on Ritual Abuse | publisher = Utah Governor's Commission for Women and Families|format=PDF}}</ref><ref>Victor, 1993, p. 79</ref> Therapists cite the pain expressed and the internal consistency of their patients' stories, as well as the similarity of allegations by different patients in geographically separate areas as evidence for the reality of the stories; despite this, the disclosures of patients have never resulted in the discovery of body parts or missing persons that would corroborate the allegations.<ref>Victor, 1993, p.86</ref> In one analysis of 36 court cases involving ritual sex abuse of children, only one quarter resulted in convictions and the convictions had little to do with ritual sex abuse.<ref name = CA>{{citation | last = Charlier | first = T | coauthors = Downing S | year = 1988 | title = Allegations Rife, Evidence Slight | publisher = [[The Commercial Appeal]] | location = Memphis, TN }}; cited in Victor, 1993, p. 17</ref> In a 1994 survey of more than 11,000 psychiatric and police workers throughout the US, conducted for the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, researchers investigated approximately 12,000 accusations of group cult sexual abuse based on satanic ritual. The survey found no substantiated reports of well-organized satanic rings of people who sexually abuse children, but they did find isolated incidents involving individuals or couples who used claims of satanism to intimidate victims.<ref name = NCCAN/> A sample of 29 patients in a medical clinic reporting SRA found no corroboration of the claims in medical records or in discussion with family members.<ref name=Coons>{{cite journal |author=Coons PM |title=Reports of satanic ritual abuse: further implications about pseudomemories |journal=Percept Mot Skills |volume=78 |issue=3 Pt 2 |pages=1376–8 |year=1994 |month=June |pmid=7936968 |doi= |url= |accessdate=2008-06-07}}</ref> Lewis states that the media coverage of SRA began to turn negative by 1987, and the last of the "panic " is said to have ended between 1992 and 1995.<ref name = Lewis/> ==Research== {{POV-section|date=June 2008}} Research in [[Australia]] and [[United Kingdom|Britain]] suggests that between a third and a quarter of psychotherapists, social workers and counselors have encountered at least one client who discloses allegations of ritualistic abuse.<ref name=Andrews1995>{{cite journal | author = Andrews, B. | coauthors = Morton, J.; Bekerian, D.A.; Brewin, C.R.; Davies, G.M.; Mollon, P. | year = 1995 | title = The recovery of memories in clinical practice: Experiences and beliefs of British Psychological Society practitioners | journal = The Psychologist | volume = 8 | pages = 209–214}}</ref><ref name=Creighton1993>{{cite journal | author = Creighton, S.J. | year = 1993 | title = Organized abuse: NSPCC experience | journal = Child Abuse Review| volume = 2 | pages = 232–232 | doi = 10.1002/car.2380020405}}</ref><ref name=Schmuttermaier1999>{{cite journal | author = Schmuttermaier, J. | coauthors = Veno, A. | year = 1999 | title = Counselors' beliefs about ritual abuse: an Australian study | journal = Journal of Child Sexual Abuse | volume = 8 | issue = 3 | pages = p45–63 | url = http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/recordDetail?accno=EJ607651 | accessdate = 2007-10-22 | doi = 10.1300/J070v08n03_03}}</ref> A 1996 survey of [[Clinical psychology|clinician]] members of the [[American Psychological Association]] found a minority of respondents who had encountered allegations of ritual abuse, most of whom believed their clients. In the more than 12,000 cases investigated, the researchers found none in which the histories were concluded as factual.<ref name=Bottoms1996>{{cite journal | author = Bottoms, B.L. | coauthors = Shaver, P.R.; Goodman, G.S. | year = 1996 | title = An analysis of ritualistic and religion-related child abuse allegations | journal = Law and Human Behavior | volume = 20 | issue = 1 | pages = 1–34 | url = http://www.springerlink.com/index/Q40489P813183L15.pdf | accessdate = 2007-10-22 | doi = 10.1007/BF01499130|format=PDF}}</ref> A British study found that of 29% of the 211 cases of organised [[child sexual abuse]] reported to researchers by police, social and welfare agencies from the period of 1988 to 1991 were designated "ritual abuse" cases by respondents.<ref>{{citation | last = Gallagher | first = B | coauthors = Hughes, B. & Parker, H | year = 1996 | title = The nature and extent of known cases of organised child sexual abuse in England and Wales}}; in {{cite book | first = P. (ed.) | last = Bibby | title = Organised Abuse: The Current Debate | publisher = Arena | ISBN = 1857422848 }}</ref> Another British survey in 1994 found an average of 21 out of 242 abuse cases investigated per year in [[England]] and [[Wales]] involved involved ritual or satanic abuse. In the ritual abuse cases the rituals were found to be secondary to the sexual abuse. In cases involving satanic abuse, the satanic allegations by younger children were influenced by adults, and the concerns over the satanic aspects were found to be compelling due to cultural attraction of the concept, but distracting from the actual harm caused to the abuse victims.<ref>{{cite book |author=La Fontaine, J S. |title=The extent and nature of organised and ritual abuse: research findings |publisher=HMSO |location=London |year=1994 |pages= |isbn=0-11-321797-8 |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=2008-04-29|url = http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/Abstract.aspx?id=157278 }}</ref> In a 1995 report by the Department of Justice in Canada, ritual abuse is described as "severe physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual abuse used systematically with symbols, ceremonies and/or group activities that have a religious, magical or supernatural connotation." The report indicates that victims of ritual abuse are often afraid to report the incidents, and that often their reports are not believed.<ref name=dojcan/> Coleman describes the ritual abuse accounts of several of her clients in the United Kingdom, including a pedophile ring and the ritualistic abuse of children in a cult.<ref>"Satanic Cult Practices" Coleman, J. p 242-253 in {{cite book |last = Sinason | first = V |title=Treating survivors of satanist abuse |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |year=1994|pages= |isbn=0-415-10543-9 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref> An estimated 93% of [[Psychotherapy|therapists]] working with alleged ritual abuse survivors in the early and mid 1990's believed that ritual abuse occurs,<ref name = Noblitt/> though a survey in the United States found that of 2709 practicing [[Clinical psychology|clinical psychologists]], 1908 had no patients reporting SRA, 785 found one to two cases, and sixteen had treated more than one hundred patients reporting SRA, suggesting that a minority of therapists may be "highly predisposed" to see a disturbed clients as suffering from SRA.<ref>Victor, 1993, p. 257-8</ref> Women that have reported childhood ritualistic abuse scored considerably higher on measures of childhood physical and sexual abuse than female survivors of childhood sexual abuse without ritualism. <ref name=Lawrence1995>{{cite journal | author = Lawrence, K.J. | coauthors = Cozolino, L.; Foy, D.W. | year = 1995 | title = Psychological sequelae in adult females reporting childhood ritualistic abuse | journal = Child Abuse & Neglect | volume = 19 | issue = 8 | pages = 975–984 | url = http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/014521349500059H | accessdate = 2008-06-15 | doi = 10.1016/0145-2134(95)00059-H}}</ref> Some psychologists have described substantiated cases of day care sexual abuse which involved ritualistic abuse.<ref name = Noblitt/><ref name = Schumacher>{{cite journal | author = Schumacher, R.B. | coauthors = Carlson, R.S. | year = 1999 | month = September | title = Variables and risk factors associated with child abuse in daycare settings. | journal = Child Abuse & Neglect | volume = 23 | issue = 9 | pages = 891–8 | publisher = Elsevier Science Inc. | location = Amsterdam, The Netherlands | issn = 0145-2134 | pmid = 10505902 | doi = 10.1016/S0145-2134(99)00057-5}}</ref><ref name = Finkelhor/> Some of this research has, in turn, been criticized for an overly liberal definition of what constitutes a "substantiated" case of ritual abuse.<ref>{{cite book | last = de Young | first = Mary | title = The Day Care Ritual Abuse Moral Panic | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=_e8ZkJBtz0EC | year = 2004 | publisher = McFarland and Company | location = Jefferson, North Carolina, United States | isbn = 0786418303 | pages = 102 }}</ref> In day-care settings, a satanic overtone was often associated with ritual abuse, and ritual abuse coupled with sexual abuse was found to be the most devastating.<ref name = Schumacher/> These effects were found not to be temporary and multiple perpetrator abuse was found to be worse.<ref name = Schumacher/> The failure of center staff to report suspicion of abuse by parents of staff was mentioned as a worry by several researchers.<ref name = Schumacher/> It has been found that the ritualistic sexual abuse of children has strong effects on their level of functioning, including behavior problems, negative attitudes, increased sexualized behaviors and showing a hypervigilant stance to the world. <ref>"Conclusions and recommendations" Waterman, J.; Kelly, R.; McCord, J.; Oliveri, M.K., p.284-288 in {{cite book | last =Waterman | first = Jill | coauthors = Kelly, Robert J.; Oliveri, M. K.;and McCord, Jane | title = Behind the Playground Walls - Sexual Abuse in Preschools | publisher = The Guilford Press |date=1993 | location =New York, London | isbn = 0-89862-523-8}}</ref> ==Skepticism== SRA has been described as a [[moral panic]] and compared to the [[blood libel]] and [[witch-hunt]]s of historical [[Europe]]<ref name="pmid9443001">{{cite journal |author=Sjöberg RL |title=False allegations of satanic abuse: case studies from the witch panic in Rättvik 1670-71 |journal=Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=219–26 |year=1997 |month=December |pmid=9443001 |doi= |url= |accessdate=2008-06-07}}</ref><ref name = Lewis>{{cite book|editor=James R. Lewis|author=Jenkins, Philip|title=The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements|isbn= 0195149866|pages=221-242|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=2004}}</ref> and [[McCarthyism]] in 20th-century [[United States|America]]<ref name = Nathan>{{cite book |author=Snedeker, Michael R.; Nathan, Debbie |title=Satan's silence: ritual abuse and the making of a modern American witch hunt |publisher=Basic Books |location=New York |year=1995 |pages= |isbn=0-465-07181-3 |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|name=Philip Jenkins and Daniel Maier-Katkin|title=Satanism: Myth and reality in a contemporary moral panic|journal=Crime, Law and Social Change|publisher=Springer Netherlands|volume=17, Number 1|date=January, 1992|doi=10.1007/BF00190171|pages=53–75|author=Jenkins, Philip|unused_data=|ISSN 0925-4994 (Print) 1573-0751 (Online)}}[http://www.springerlink.com/content/k6g4553n0w7u8523/ Abstract at Springerlink]</ref><ref>{{cite book|title= The Satanism scare: an anthropological view|author=Richardson, James T.|secondauthor=Joel Best, David G. Bromley|publisher=Aldine Transaction|date=1991|isbn=0202303799}}</ref><ref name = Victor>{{cite book|title=Satanic Panic: The Creation of a Contemporary Legend|author=Victor, Jeffery S.|publisher= [[Open Court Publishing Company]]|date=1993|isbn=081269192X}}</ref> though some believe in the reality of the SRA allegations.<ref name=Kent1993/><ref name = Noblitt/> Sociologists and journalists noted the vigorous nature with which some evangelical activists and groups were using claims of SRA to further their religious and political goals.<ref name = Victor/> Other commentators suggested that the entire phenomenon may be evidence of a "[[moral panic]]" over Satanism and child abuse.<ref name=Deyoung1996>{{cite journal | author = Deyoung, M. | year = 1996 | title = A painted devil: Constructing the satanic ritual abuse of children problem | journal = Aggression and Violent Behavior | volume = 1 | issue = 3 | pages = 235–248 | url = http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/1359178995000097 | accessdate = 2007-11-20 | doi = 10.1016/1359-1789(95)00009-7}}</ref> Skeptical explanations for allegations of SRA have included an attempt by [[Radical feminism|"radical feminists"]] to undermine the [[nuclear family]],<ref>{{cite book |author=Underwager, Ralph C.; Wakefield, Hollida |title=Return of the furies: an investigation into recovered memory therapy |publisher=Open Court |location=La Salle, Ill |year=1995 |pages= |isbn=0812692721 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref> a backlash against working women,<ref name = Nathan/> homophobic attacks on gay childcare workers,<ref>{{cite book |author=Hood, Lynley |title=A City Possessed: The Christchurch Civic Creche Case |publisher=Longacre Press |location= |year= |pages= |isbn=1877135623 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref> a universal need to believe in evil,<ref name=Frankfurter2001>{{cite journal | author = Frankfurter, D. | year = 2001 | title = Ritual as Accusation and Atrocity: Satanic Ritual Abuse, Gnostic Libertinism, and Primal Murders | journal = History of Religions | volume = 40 | issue = 4 | pages = 352–380 | url = http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0018-2710(200105)40%3A4%3C352%3ARAAAAS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-0 | accessdate = 2007-11-20 | doi = 10.1086/463648}}</ref> fear of alternative spiritualities<ref>{{cite book |author=La Fontaine, J. S. |title=Speak of the Devil: allegations of satanic abuse in Britain |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=1998 |pages= |isbn=0521629349 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref> "end of the millennium" anxieties,<ref name = Hystories>{{cite book |author=Showalter, Elaine |title=Hystories: hysterical epidemics and modern media |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |year=1997 |pages= |isbn=0231104596 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref> or a transient form of temporal lobe epilepsy.<ref name=Paley2001>{{cite journal | author = Paley, J. | year = 2001 | title = Satanist abuse and alien abduction: A comparative analysis theorizing temporal lobe activity as a possible connection between anomalous memories | journal = British Journal of Social Work | volume = 27 | issue = 1 | pages = 43–70 | issn = 0045-3102 }}</ref> Information about SRA claims has been spread through conferences presented to religious groups, churches and professionals such as police forces and therapists as well as parents. These conferences and presentations served to organize agencies and foster communication between groups, maintaining and spreading disproven or exaggerated stories as fact.<ref name = CA/><ref name = Victor/> At the height of the panic, the highly emotional accusations and circumstances of SRA allegations made it difficult to investigate the claims, with accused being assumed as guilty and skeptics becoming co-accused during trials.<ref>Victor, p. 16-17.</ref> Frankfurter states that no [[forensic evidence|forensic]]<ref name="Evil Incarnate">{{cite book | last = Frankfurter | first = David | authorlink = | title = Evil Incarnate: Rumors of Demonic Conspiracy and Ritual Abuse in History'' | publisher = Princeton University Press | date = 2006 | location = Princeton, NJ | pages = 213 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 0691113505}}</ref> or corroborating evidence has ever been found, despite extensive investigations.<ref>Lanning, 1992, as cited by Coons in Fraser, 1997, p. 106.</ref> A 1994 review of Jeffery Victor's book, ''Satanic Panic: Creation of a Contemporary Legend'' — written at the time when SRA was considered by Victor to be a moral panic — notes that "A 'scare' or 'panic' exists when the magnitude of the concern and agitation is disproportionate relative to the magnitude of the actual threat. Debunking constructionists need to be more explicit on this score, else rare verified instances of 'Satanic crimes' may appear to invalidate their analysis. Satanic 'atrocities' probably exist from time to time."<ref>{{cite journal |last = Robbins | first = T | title = Satanic Panic: The Creation of a Contemporary Legend- book reviews | journal =Sociology of Religion | url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SOR/is_n3_v55/ai_15729291/pg_1 |date = 1994 | accessdate = 2008-06-27}}</ref> Specific parts of satanic abuse records may appear to have scriptural etymologies and could easily have been conceived by those that wanted to defame or reverse Judeo-Christian religions.<ref name=Kent1993>{{cite journal | author = Kent, S.A. | year = 1993 | title = Deviant scripturalism and ritual satanic abuse. I: Possible Judeo-Christian influences | journal = Religion(London. 1971) | volume = 23 | issue = 3 | pages = 229–241 | url = http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=4293022}}</ref> Victor reviews 61 allegations of SRA in America and concludes there is no basis to them, but this review has been described as cursory and it is impossible to tell from his description what actually occured at the 61 locations discussed.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fraser | first = GA | publisher = American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. | year = 1997 | title = The Dilemma of Ritual Abuse: Cautions and Guides for Therapists | url = http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=4CMHRXz5qsQC&oi=fnd&pg=PA105&dq=%22Satanic+ritual+abuse:+First+research+and+therapeutic+implications+%22&ots=fvhQTrI3VM&sig=dQ7xMtDqXydtjMw42Ex6fC0WaIY#PPA105,M1 | pages = 105-117 | isbn = 0880484780}}</ref> Lafontaine states that cases of alleged SRA reported in the [[United Kingdom]] were reviewed in detail and the majority were unsubstantiated; three were found to involve sexual abuse of children in the context of rituals, but none involved the [[Witches' Sabbath]] or devil-worship that are characteristic of allegations of SRA.<ref>LaFontaine, 1998, p. 11</ref> Lafontaine also states that no material evidence has been forthcoming in allegations of SRA, no bones, bodies or blood, in either the United States or Britain. The techniques used by investigators to gather evidence from witnesses, particularly young children, have been criticized for being leading and suggestive, pressuring young children to provide testimony, refusing to accept denials while offering inducements that encouraged "disclosures", all of which were alleged to have led children to "construct bizarre accounts of what happened."<ref>LaFontaine, 1998, p. 5</ref> Kenneth Lanning, an expert in the investigation of child sexual abuse,<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress02/heimbach050102.htm | title = Testimony of Michael J. Heimbach, Crimes Against Children Unit | last = Heimbach | first = MJ | date = 2002-05-01 | publisher = United States Congress | accessdate=2008-04-30}}</ref> has stated that pseudo-satanism may exist but there is no proof for vast conspiracies and human sacrifices. <blockquote>There are many possible alternative answers to the question of why victims are alleging things that don't seem to be true....I believe that there is a middle ground - a continuum of possible activity. Some of what the victims allege may be true and accurate, some may be misperceived or distorted, some may be screened or symbolic, and some may be "contaminated" or false. The problem and challenge, especially for law enforcement, is to determine which is which. This can only be done through active investigation. I believe that the majority of victims alleging "ritual" abuse are in fact victims of some form of abuse or trauma.<ref name = Lanning/></blockquote> Reported cases of SRA involve bizarre activities, some of which are impossible, that makes the credibility of victims of child sexual abuse questionable. In cases where SRA is alleged to occur, Lanning describes common dynamics of the use of fear to control multiple young victims, the presence of multiple perpetrators and strange or ritualized behaviors, though allegations of crimes such as human sacrifice and cannibalism do not seem to be true. Lanning also suggests several reasons why adult victims may make allegations of SRA, including "pathological distortion, traumatic memory, normal childhood fears and fantasies, misperception, and confusion".<ref name = Lanning2/> ==Court cases== {{Main|List of satanic ritual abuse allegations}} Elements of Satanist ritual have featured in some ritual abuse allegations of child abuse and such allegations have appeared throughout the world. The failure of certain high-profile legal cases generated worldwide media attention, and came to play a central feature in the growing controversies over child abuse, memory and the law.<ref name="isbn0393702545 ">{{cite book |author=Hammond, D. Corydon; Brown, Daniel P.; Scheflin, Alan W. |title=Memory, trauma treatment, and the law |publisher=W.W. Norton |location=New York |year=1998 |pages= |isbn=0393702545 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref> During the early 1980s, some courts attempted ''ad hoc'' accommodations to address the anxieties of child witnesses in relation to testifying before defendants. Screens or CCTV technology are a common feature of child sexual assault trials today; children in the early 1980s were typically forced into direct visual contact with the accused abuser while in court. SRA allegations in the courts catalyzed a broad agenda of research into the nature of children's testimony and the reliability of their oral evidence in court. The findings of this research are somewhat ambiguous, suggesting that neither children nor adults are immune to suggestive interviewing techniques but even extremely suggestive techniques do not inevitably lead to false reports.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Ceci SJ, Kulkofsky S, Klemfuss JZ, Sweeney CD, Bruck M |title=Unwarranted assumptions about children's testimonial accuracy |journal=Annual Review of Clinical Psychology |volume=3 |issue= |pages=311–28 |year=2007 |pmid=17716058 |doi=10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.3.022806.091354}}</ref><!--JOURNAL ABSTRACT DOES NOT MENTION SATANIC RITUAL ABUSE; DOES THE FULL-TEXT?--> Research shows that children do not have enough knowledge of SRA to make up a fraudulent claim on their own. However, their knowledge of satanism, violence and illegal activities could conceivably be a place where an allegation is started from.<ref name=Goodman1997>{{cite journal | author = Goodman, G.S. | coauthors = Quas, J.A.; Bottoms, B.L.; Qin, J.; Shaver, P.R.; Orcutt, H.; Shapiro, C. | year = 1997 | title = Children's religious knowledge: Implications for understanding satanic ritual abuse allegations | journal = Child Abuse & Neglect | volume = 21 | issue = 11 | pages = 1111–1130 | doi = 10.1016/S0145-2134(97)00070-7 }}</ref> ==Dissociative identity disorder== SRA has been linked to [[dissociative identity disorder]] (DID, also referred to as multiple personality disorder).<ref name=Young1991>{{cite journal |author=Young WC, Sachs RG, Braun BG, Watkins RT |title=Patients reporting ritual abuse in childhood: a clinical syndrome. Report of 37 cases |journal=Child Abuse Negl |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=181–9 |year=1991 |pmid=2043970 |doi= |url=}}</ref> Many MPD patients report memories of different forms of ritual abuse, yet these are alleged and most are undocumented.<ref name=KPaley>{{cite journal |last=Paley |first=K. |year=1992 |month=June |title=Dream wars: a case study of a woman with multiple personality disorder |journal=Dissociation | volume = 5 | issue = 2 | format = PDF | pages = 111–116 | url = https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/dspace/bitstream/1794/1646/1/Diss_5_2_9_OCR.pdf |accessdate= 2008-06-09}}</ref> The first person to publish a survivor story about SRA was [[Michelle Smith (author)|Michelle Smith]], co-author of ''[[Michelle Remembers]]''; Smith was diagnosed by her therapist and later husband [[Lawrence Pazder]] with DID.<ref>Victor, 1993, p. 81</ref> A survey investigating 12,000 cases of alleged SRA found that most were diagnosed with DID as well as [[posttraumatic stress disorder]].<ref name=Bottoms1996> The percentage of patients diagnosed with DID that may also be survivors of cult abuse may be approximately 20%.<ref name = Sachs>{{cite conference | author = Sachs, R. | coauthors = Braun, B. | year = 1987 | title = Issues in treating MPD patients with satanic cult involvement | conference = Fourth International Conference on Multiple Personality/ Dissociative States | booktitle = Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Multiple Personality/ Dissociative States | pages = 383-87 | publisher = Rush-Presbyterian-St.Luke's Medical Center | location = Chicago}} as cited in {{cite book | author = Sakheim, D.K. | year = 1992 | title = Out of Darkness: Exploring Satanism and Ritual Abuse | publisher = Lexington Books | isbn =0-669-26962-X}}</ref> The level of [[dissociation (psychology)|dissociation]] in a sample of women alleging SRA was found to be higher than a comparable sample of non-SRA peers, approaching the levels shown by patients diagnosed with DID.<ref name=Leavitt1994>{{cite journal | author = Leavitt, F. | year = 1994 | title = Clinical Correlates of Alleged Satanic Abuse and Less Controversial Sexual Molestation. | journal = Child Abuse and Neglect: The International Journal | volume = 18 | issue = 4 | pages = 387–92 | url = http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ483422&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ483422 | accessdate = 2008-06-15 | doi = 10.1016/0145-2134(94)90041-8}}</ref> A sample of patients diagnosed with DID and reporting childhood SRA also present other symptoms including "dissociative states with satanic overtones, severe post-traumatic stress disorder, survivor guilt, bizarre self abuse, unusual fears, sexualization of sadistic impulses, indoctrinated beliefs, and substance abuse".<ref name=Young1991/> Commenting on the study, Philip Coons stated that patients were held together in a ward dedicated to dissociative disorders with ample opportunity to socialize, that the memories were recovered through the use of hypnosis (which he considers questionable<ref name = Coons/>), no cases were referred to law enforcement for verification, nor was verification attempted through family members, that existing injuries could have been self-inflicted, that the experiences reported were "strikingly similar" and that "many of the SRA reports developed while patients were hospitalized".<ref name = Fraser/> The reliability of memories of SRA elucidated by clients in treatment for DID has been a point of contention in the popular media and with clinicians, some of whom express ambivalence over the reliability of narratives of SRA patients. Most acknowledge that such a narrative is indicative of serious victimisation and trauma.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Schmuttermaier | first = J | coauthors = Veno S | title = Counselors' beliefs about ritual abuse: An Australian Study | journal = Journal of Child Sexual Abuse | volume = 8 | issue = 3 | year = 1999 | pages = 45–63 |url=http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ607651&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ607651 | doi = 10.1300/J070v08n03_03}}</ref>{{Syn|date=December 2007}} A wide number of MPD adult patients in therapy have reported SRA memories that began in childhood.<ref name=Van1990/> Noblitt states that he has consulted with patients showing signs of both DID and ritual abuse and defines "ritual abuse as abuse that occurs in a ceremonial or circumscribed manner for the purpose of creating or manipulating already created alter mental states." <ref>Perskin & Noblitt, 2000, p.47-48</ref> In his review of their book, Joel Best states that Noblitt's analysis of the SRA phenomenon has been called incoherent, ignoring the larger context of SRA and that his book on the subject "should not be taken at face value".<ref name = Best>{{cite journal | last = Best | first = Joel | journal = Criminal Justice Review | pages = 103-5 | doi = 10.1177/073401689602100119 | volume = 21 | year = 1996 | title = Book Review: Cult and Ritual Abuse: Its History, Anthropology, and Recent Discovery in Contemporary America }}</ref> He also criticized them for not referring to the skeptical literature on SRA, being convincing only to those who are already convinced and explaining away contradictions to their beliefs about the reality of SRA.<ref name = Best/> Many women claiming to be SRA survivors have been diagnosed as sufferers of DID, and it is unclear if their claims of childhood abuse are accurate or a manifestation of their diagnosis.<ref>Victor, 1993, p. 89</ref> A sampling of 29 patients who presented with SRA, 22 were diagnosed with dissociative disorders including DID. The authors noted that 58% of the SRA claims appeared in the years following the Geraldo Rivera special on SRA and a further 34% following a workshop on SRA presented in the area; in only two patients were the memories elicited without the use of "questionable therapeutic practices for memory retrieval."<ref name = Coons/> Claims of SRA by DID patients have been called "...often nothing more than fantastic pseudomemories implanted or reinforced in psychotherapy"<ref name="pmid15503730">{{cite journal |author=Piper A, Merskey H |title=The persistence of folly: a critical examination of dissociative identity disorder. Part I. The excesses of an improbable concept |journal=Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie |volume=49 |issue=9 |pages=592–600 |year=2004 |pmid=15503730 |doi=| url = http://ww1.cpa-apc.org:8080/Publications/Archives/CJP/2004/september/piper.pdf | format = PDF}}; quotation from page 595.</ref> and SRA is a cultural script of the perception of DID.<ref name="pmid11778708">{{cite journal |author=Stafford J, Lynn SJ |title=Cultural scripts, memories of childhood abuse, and multiple identities: a study of role-played enactments |journal=Int J Clin Exp Hypn |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=67–85 |year=2002 |month=January |pmid=11778708 |doi= |url= |accessdate=2008-06-07}}</ref> Hammond et al. states that an "alternative hypothesis" besides "iatrogenic suggestion" should be put forth to define the frequency of ritual abuse memories in victims, because there is data that shows that it is very difficult to implant bizarre occurences via "post-event" suggestion.<ref name="isbn0393702545 "/> Skeptics claimed that the increase in DID diagnosis on the 1980s and 1990s and its association with memories of SRA is evidence of malpractice by treating professionals.<ref>{{cite book |author=Pendergrast, Mark |title=Victims of memory: incest accusations and shattered lives |publisher=Upper Access |location=Hinesburg, Vt |year=1995 |pages= |isbn=0-942679-16-4 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref> Much of the body of literature on the treatment of ritually abused patients focuses on dissociative disorders.<ref name= Fraser/><ref name=RossLoftus>{{cite book |title=Satanic Ritual Abuse: Principles of Treatment |first=Colin A. |last=Ross |coauthors=Elizabeth F. Loftus |year=1996 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=0802073573}}</ref> ==False memories== SRA allegations have been alleged as "entirely a phenomenon of false memories"; advocates of [[false memory syndrome]] (FMS), a controversial diagnosis promoted by the [[False Memory Syndrome Foundation]], claim that false memories are created [[iatrogenesis|iatrogenically]] through suggestion or coercion.<ref name = Fraser/> Noblitt and Perskin have stated that unfounded generalizations about ritual abuse are often made without appropriately referring to published research.<ref>Perskin & Noblitt, 2000, p.55</ref> They state that the FMSF circulates data that comes from biased and unscientific sources and from the same data derives unfounded conclusions.<ref>Perskin & Noblitt, 2000, p.226</ref> In general, there are several examples of media bias promoted in part by FMSF proponents regarding ritual abuse.<ref>Perskin & Noblitt, 2000, p.177 - 189</ref> ==See also== * [[False allegation of child sexual abuse]] * [[File 18]] * [[List of satanic ritual abuse allegations]] * [[Pace memorandum]] * [[Ritualized child abuse]] ==References== {{reflist|2}} ==External links== *{{PDF|[http://web.archive.org/web/20031025012607/http://www.pointnet.ca/media/igtaorca.pdf FBI agent K. Lanning's Investigator's Guide to Allegations of Ritual Child Abuse]|408&nbsp;KB}} (archive copy) *[http://www.nemasys.com/rahome/library/articles/ra_arti1.shtml Ritual Abuse Bibliography - Articles from periodicals and journals] [[Category:Satanism]] [[Category:Crimes involving Satanism or the occult]] [[Category:Urban legends]] [[Category:Mass hysteria]] [[Category:Day care sexual abuse hysteria| ]] [[Category:Overturned convictions]] [[lt:Satanistinių ritualų mitas]] [[nl:Satanisch ritueel misbruik]] [[ja:悪魔的儀式虐待]] [[ru:Сатанинская паника]] [[sv:Satanic ritual abuse]]