http://www.icsahome.com/articles/ritualistic-abuse-of-children--csj-5-2-1988

Ritualistic Abuse of Children: Dynamics and Impact

Susan J. Kelley, R.N., Ph.D.

Boston College School of Nursing

Excerpted from her paper:

Abstract

Ritualistic abuse of children is a severe form of child maltreatment that has only recently come to the attention of mental health professionals and law enforcement officials.  Ritualistic abuse involves the repetitive sexual, physical, and psychological abuse of children by adults who systematically and deliberately terrorize the child victims in order to prevent disclosure.  Ritualistic abuse may be intrafamilial, which is often intergenerational, or extrafamilial, which is often associated with day care settings.  As a result of this severe and multifaceted form of maltreatment, child victims experience persistent psychological disturbances.  This paper discusses the nature and impact of the physical, sexual, and psychological abuse reported by victims, as well as the phenomenon's implications for policy, practice, and research.

She goes on to mention:

Only one study to date has utilized standardized instruments to examine the impact of cult-based ritualistic abuse.  This study reported that 35 of 67 children who were sexually abused in day care centers nationwide had also been ritually abused (Kelley, 1988).  Ritualistic abuse was associated with significantly greater psychological distress as measured by the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach and Edelbrock, 1983).  

And then:

Therapists treating adults with multiple personality disorders have noted that a large percentage were ritualistically abused when they were children (Sachs and Braun, 1987; Lawson, 1987; Terry, Loomis, and Horowitz, 1987; Holland, 1987; Hopponen, 1987).  Some therapists believe that the overwhelming trauma of ritualistic abuse fosters the growth of dissociative defenses and contributes to the development of multiple personality disorders (Sachs and Braun, 1987; Holland, 1987).

Implications for Policy, Practice, and Research

Ritualistic abuse of children has important implications for practice, policy and research.  Reliable estimates of the incidence of ritualistic abuse are needed.  Child protective agencies and law enforcement need to categorize child maltreatment cases according to whether ritualistic abuse was involved.  Since most cases of ritualistic abuse involve multiple victims and multiple perpetrators, adequate resources must be made available to the agencies charged with investigating such allegations.  A multidisciplinary team approach with cooperation among investigating agencies is imperative in preventing further trauma to child victims and their families.

The media pay much attention to, but often sensationalize, cases of ritualistic abuse.  Since such attention is an additional source of stress for child victims and their families, professionals involved in cases of ritualistic abuse should attempt to shield victims from the media.  In addition, professionals familiar with ritualistic abuse should teach psychologists, physicians, nurses, social workers, police officers, child protective workers, judges, and prosecutors about the nature, dynamics, clinical indicators, and sequelae of ritualistic abuse.

The skepticism that reports of ritually abused children and adult survivors elicit is similar to the disbelief and horror incest victims faced only a decade ago.  Summit writes, "we are willing to concede that girls may be at risk of sexual victimization by their fathers but we fight back at claims that diffuse into more sacred domains.  These forbidden sanctuaries include victimization of boys, women who are victimizers, and the unholy chimera of everything forbidden and impossible:  sexual abuse of boys and girls by men and women as part of bizarre, cultic rituals."  Summit further explains that the allegations made in cases of ritualistic abuse are "so outrageous that reasonable people refuse to discuss them and believers are quashed into silence"  (Summit, 1988, p. 56).