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Children and the Ritual Abuse Scare
The McMartin Preschool case in 1983 was the first instance in which children in daycare were presented as targets of satanic cult crime. Seven workers at the preschool were charged with the sexual torture of many of the children in their care, after therapists had coaxed from the children claims of sadistic torture and sexual abuse that some interpreted as possessing elements of satanic ritualism (Nathan, 1991).
The descriptions of abuse were to become familiar in the next few years to officials investigating other daycare cantres for crimes against children. Such allegations commonly involve children witnessing or partaking in the forced ingestion of human excrement, semen, or blood; mutilation or sacrifice of animals and babies; drug-taking; singing or chanting in satanic rituals; and threats of physical harm to the children if they should tell anyone.
Whereas adult survivor stories were a source of public fascination, the publicity surrounding the charges of sadistic sexual abuse in the McMartin preschool case created an atmosphere of hysteria in areas of the United States and in other countries. The case was proof to many that a secret satanic network had infiltrated the nationís daycare centres, in a plot to brainwash young children with their ideology.
It was not long before scores of other daycare centres become the centre of similar criminal investigations. Many other childcare workers were charged with ritual abuse of children, on the basis of claims made by children, their parents, and therapists.
While few of the workers involved were convicted, due to a distinct lack of physical or medical evidence, many spent long periods of time in custody awaiting trial, and ran up huge debts trying to defend themselves. In the case of the McMartin workers, not one worker was convicted of any of the crimes that had been alleged. However, three of the workers spent years in jail, lost their livelihoods and reputations, and incurred large debts as a result of the case (Nathan & Snedecker, 1995).
Ritual abuse "experts" hypothesise that the purpose of satanic abuse in childcare centres is to convert children into satan worshippers through terrorisation, and for adult cultists to receive dark powers from the abuse of children in their rituals. Perhaps the most well-known "experts" on satanic abuse are "Believe the Children", a volunteer group of parents who disseminate information about Satanic ritual abuse. They believe that this kind of crime is a serious social problem, occuring frequently in childcare centres and churches, and by babysitters and neighbours (Victor, 1993). However, while the highly publicised preschool cases are cited as proof of a widespread satanic abuse problem, many of the 'satanic' events reported by children in such cases have been shown to be impossible.
For instance, the Civic Creche case in Christchurch, New Zealand, led investigators on a wild hunt for secret passageways that the children claimed to have been taken through, yet no tunnels were ever found (McLoughlin, 1991). Self-proclaimed cult 'experts' also fail to mention that the original claims were in some cases (eg the McMartin case) found to have been made by a mentally unstable member of the childís family, with a history of paranoid delusions (Nathan & Snedeker, 1995). In fact in most cases, there is no reliable corroborating evidence to suggest that ritualisitc abuse ever occured.
Although the panic over abuse of children by daycare workers is in some ways understandable amongst parents of vulnerable young children, there are a number of arguments against the notion of widespread satanic ritual abuse in childcare facilities. Therefore, although it is known that sexual abuse of children in such contexts can and does occur, there is no reason to believe that abuse occurs during the sorts of rituals and sacrifice that characterise satanic abuse claims.
For example, not only do the claims made against childcare workers by children involved in these cases take on bizarre and illogical forms, the profile of ritual abuse and abusers does not fit with what is known about any other form of child sexual abuse. Ritual abuse cases involve disproportionately high amounts of offending by non-family members (whereas most sexual abuse occurs within the home) and by women.
Amongst a sample of children said to have been abused in childcare centres, genital penetration is alleged to have occured remarkably frequently, which is highly unusual amongst children so young. Although penetration in children of this age should cause great physical damage to the child, in such cases parents rarely suspect abuse until allegations are made against the centre. Where medical examinations have been used to provide evidence of molestation in small children, it should be noted that practices of the past have proven to be faulty by recent research. Distinguishing marks in the genital area that was previously used to diagnose penetration have been shown to occur in non-abused children as well.
In cases where ritual abuse has been suspected, therapists have usually been brought in to assess the child for signs of sexual abuse. However, a recent report revealed that, contrary to what some child therapists have used as a basis for diagnosis, there does not appear to be any such thing as a child sex abuse syndrome. In other words, children who have been sexually abused are indistinguishable from those who were not in terms of such things as fears, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, mental illness, aggression, learning problems, behaviour problems, depression, sexualised behaviours, and poor self-esteem (Kendall-Tackett, Meyer-Williams, & Finkelhor, 1993). The results suggest sexual abuse cannot yet be diagnosed on the basis of psychological symptoms.
It is now recognised that the interview procedure itself can induce some children to make up stories of sexual abuse, that are classified as ritual abuse because of their bizarre nature. In the past is has been the belief that children do not lie about sexual abuse that has helped to fuel the myth of satanist attacks on children, but there is a great deal of evidence that children can convincingly relate fantasy stories of abuse as if they were real.
A number of well known studies have shown that under the appropriate conditions, many children will attempt to adjust their stories according to what they believe a questioner wants to hear. For instance, a child often believes that being asked the same questions means that they are not providing the 'right' answer. In order to please the adult, they may change their answer to fit in with what they think the adult wants them to say.
Because the child has little or no knowledge of typical sexual abuse, the stories they present may include bizzarre scenarios that are interpreted by the gullible listener as satanic abuse. The stories commonly include the sacrifice of children, strange sexual torture, and being buried underground. They often involve non-existent people and places, impossible events and fictional characters.
The issues surrounding child suggestibility in the context of ritual abuse investigations will not be covered in depth here, but are addressed more fully in two related CJBWeb sites, Suggestible Interviewing Techniques and Children by Sonia Cunningham, and Children's memory by Zof Krawczyk.
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