The False Memory Syndrome Foundation ( FMSF ) was a nonprofit organization founded in 1992 and dissolved in late 2019.
113-633: The FMSF was created by Pamela and Peter Freyd , after their adult daughter Jennifer Freyd accused her father of sexual abuse when she was a child . The FMSF described its purpose as the examination of the concept of false memory syndrome and recovered memory therapy and advocacy on behalf of individuals believed to be falsely accused of child sexual abuse . This focus included preventing future incidents, helping individuals and reconciling families affected by FMS, publicizing information about FMS, sponsoring research on it and discovering methods to distinguish true and false memories of abuse. This initial group
226-407: A basement. Pazder was also responsible for coining the term ritual abuse . Michelle Remembers provided a model for numerous allegations of SRA that ensued later in the same decade. On the basis of the book's success, Pazder developed a high media profile, gave lectures and training on SRA to law enforcement, and by September 1990 had acted as a consultant on more than 1,000 SRA cases, including
339-586: A body, stories include special industrial furnaces. The patients' allegations change, and they creatively find "solutions" to objections. The second group to make allegations of SRA were young children. During the "Satanic Panic" of the 1980s, the techniques used by investigators to gather evidence from witnesses, particularly young children, evolved to become very leading, coercive and suggestive, pressuring young children to provide testimony and refusing to accept denials while offering inducements that encouraged false disclosures. The interviewing techniques used were
452-462: A catch-all term for the types of therapies that were used to attempt to recover memories, and observed to create false memories. False memory syndrome is not included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , as it is not a psychiatric diagnosis or illness, but it is included in public advisory guidelines relating to mental health. The foundation believed that false memories devalued
565-536: A congressional committee that children were being forced to engage in scatological behavior and watch bizarre rituals in which animals were being slaughtered. Shortly after, the United States Congress doubled its budget for child-protection programs. Psychiatrist Roland Summit delivered conferences in the wake of the McMartin trial and depicted the phenomenon as a conspiracy that involved anyone skeptical of
678-875: A large increase in child protection investigations in America, Britain, and other developed countries, along with a heightened public awareness of child abuse . The investigation of incest allegations in California was also changed, with cases led by social workers who used leading and coercive interviewing techniques that had been avoided by police investigators. Such changes in the prosecution of cases of alleged incest resulted in an increase in confessions by fathers in exchange for plea bargains . Shortly thereafter, some children in child protection cases began making allegations of horrific physical and sexual abuse by caregivers within organized rituals, claiming sexual abuse in Satanic rituals and
791-498: A large number of children being killed or abused in Satanic rituals. 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 what the media incorrectly perceived as actual cult sacrifices (such as the 1989 case of Adolfo Constanzo ) have supported this idea. A third variation of ritual abuse involves non-religious ritual abuse in which
904-482: A lifetime of Devil worship . Other allegations included bizarre sexual acts such as necrophilia , forced ingestion of semen , blood and feces , cannibalism , orgies , liturgical parody such as pseudosacramental use of feces and urine ; infanticide , sacrificial abortions to eat fetuses and human sacrifice ; satanic police officers who covered up evidence of SRA crimes and desecration of Christian graves . No evidence of any of these claims has ever been found;
1017-461: A moral panic over Satanism and child abuse. After skeptical inquiry, explanations for allegations of SRA have included an attempt by radical feminists to undermine the nuclear family , a backlash against working women, homophobic attacks on gay childcare workers, a universal need to believe in evil, fear of alternative spiritualities, "end of the millennium" anxieties, or a transient form of temporal lobe epilepsy. In his book Satanic Panic ,
1130-535: A national television special on the 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." Tapings of this and similar talk show episodes were subsequently used by religious fundamentalists , psychotherapists , social workers and police to promote the idea that a conspiracy of Satanic cults existed and these cults were committing serious crimes. In
1243-405: A patient making allegations of SRA was the therapist's predisposition. Further, the alleged similarities between patient accounts (particularly between adults and children) turned out to be illusory upon review, with adults describing far more elaborate, severe and bizarre abuse than children. Bette Bottoms, who reviewed hundreds of claims of adult and child abuse, described the ultimate evidence for
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#17328921206101356-405: A profound effect on media coverage of such a controversial matter." A study showed that in 1991 prior to the group's foundation, of the stories about abuse in several popular press outlets "more than 80 percent of the coverage was weighted toward stories of survivors, with recovered memory taken for granted and questionable therapy virtually ignored" but that three years later "more than 80 percent of
1469-476: A profound insult to women to give them slogans rather than accurate information about how memory works'". S.J. Dallam criticized the foundation for describing itself as a scientific organization while undertaking partisan political and social activity. The claims made by the FMSF for the incidence and prevalence of false memories have been criticized as lacking evidence and disseminating alleged inaccurate statistics about
1582-728: A proof of the Freyd–Mitchell embedding theorem . In addition, Freyd's name is associated with the HOMFLYPT polynomial of knot theory, and he and Andre Scedrov originated the concept of (mathematical) allegories . In 2012, he became a fellow of the American Mathematical Society . Freyd and his wife Pamela founded the False Memory Syndrome Foundation in 1992, after Freyd was accused of childhood sexual abuse by his daughter Jennifer . Peter Freyd denied
1695-654: A psychologist. The Matamoros murders produced the bodies of 12 adults who were ritually sacrificed by a drug gang inspired by the film The Believers , but did not involve children or sexual abuse. The McMartin case resulted in no convictions and was ultimately based on accusations by children with no proof beyond their coerced testimonies. A 1990/1991 survey of clinicians, which reviewed 386 allegations of ritual and 191 allegations of religious abuse, described 10% and under 3% of those allegations, respectively, as unfounded following social service investigation. Dutch investigative journalists from Argos ( NPO Radio 1 ) collected
1808-467: A religious framework onto perpetrators. The latter in particular failed to substantively improve on or replace "Satanic" abuse as it was never used to describe any rituals except the Satanic ones that were the core of SRA allegations. Abuse within the context of Christianity, Islam, or any other religions failed to enter the SRA discourse. Allegation of cult-based abuse is the most extreme scenario of SRA. During
1921-441: A set of interviews from Child Protective Services , the interviews from the two trials were "significantly more likely to (a) introduce new suggestive information into the interview, (b) provide praise, promises, and positive reinforcement, (c) express disapproval, disbelief, or disagreement with children, (d) exert conformity pressure, and (e) invite children to pretend or speculate about supposed events." Specific allegations from
2034-447: A sexually transmitted disease, in their throats," according to the report by a district attorney . The evidence for SRA was primarily in the form of testimonies from children who made allegations of SRA, and adults who claim to remember abuse during childhood, that may have been forgotten and recovered during therapy . With both children and adults, no corroborating evidence has been found for anything except pseudosatanism in which
2147-420: A spot where a body was buried, but no body was found and no earth was disturbed, therapists resort to special pleading , saying that the patient was hypnotically programmed to direct investigators to the wrong location, or the patient was fooled by the cult into believing that a crime was not committed. If the alleged bodies were cremated and police point out that ordinary fires are inadequate to completely destroy
2260-464: A substantiated case. A British study published in 1996 found 62 cases of alleged ritual abuse reported to researchers by police, social and welfare agencies from the period of 1988 to 1991, representing a tiny proportion of extremely high-profile cases compared to the total number investigated by the agencies. Anthropologist Jean La Fontaine spent several years researching ritual abuse cases in Britain at
2373-615: A symptom of a moral crisis and a form of scapegoating for economic and social ills. Information about SRA claims 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. Members of local police forces organized into loose networks focused on cult crimes, some of whom billed themselves as "experts" and were paid to speak at conferences throughout
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#17328921206102486-521: A year were being killed by a network of Satanists, what one psychiatrist writing in a psychiatric journal called “a hidden holocaust”. Explanations for how Satanists covered up this slaughter included their infiltrating media and law enforcement, as well as morticians and crematorium operators to make sure no bodies were ever found. Other versions claimed that there were no missing persons because Satanists used certain women as breeders, providing Satanists with thousands of babies for human sacrifices. By
2599-471: Is credence to allegations of SRA and continue to discuss the topic. Publications by Cathy O'Brien claiming SRA was the result of government programs (specifically the Central Intelligence Agency 's Project MKULTRA ) to produce Manchurian candidate -style mind control in young children were picked up by conspiracy theorists, linking belief in SRA with claims of government conspiracies. In
2712-646: Is provided beyond case studies and brief summaries. Three other cases considered corroborating by the public —the McMartin preschool trial , the Country Walk case and the murders in Matamoros , by Adolfo Constanzo —ultimately failed to support the existence of SRA. The primary witness in the Country Walk case repeatedly made, then withdrew accusations against her husband amid unusual and coercive inquiries by her lawyer and
2825-498: Is that the memories were discovered after starting specific forms of therapy and considerable effort and time was taken to recover them through methods such as hypnosis, guided imagery , or attendance in groups that have a specific focus on recovering memories. Most of the reports by the FMSF are anecdotal , while studies cited by the FMSF are often laboratory experiments exploring the creation of memories that do not involve historical childhood sexual abuse. Ethical considerations prevent
2938-461: Is used to describe different behaviors, actions and allegations that lie between extremes of definitions. In 1988, a nationwide study of sexual abuse in US day care agencies , led by David Finkelhor, divided "ritual abuse" allegations into three categories—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
3051-496: The New York Times said that: "Of the more than 12,000 documented accusations nationwide, investigating police were not able to substantiate any allegations of organized cult abuse". Among the explanations of why the panic occurred when it did, or "took the shape that it did", include Allegations of horrific acts by outside groups, including cannibalism , child murder, torture , and incestuous orgies can place minorities in
3164-505: The Argos journalists received an anonymous email stating the journalists had to 'beaware' because "they know about your investigation", remarking "they're going to get rid of evidence – just like they did with Dutroux ". The same day as the journalists received the e-mail, the warehouse in the Bollenstreek burnt down. According to Argos, the damage had been classified so severe by
3277-607: The FMS Newsletter in his critique of the recovered memory claims of UFO abductees and those purporting to be victims of Satanic ritual abuse in his last book, The Demon-Haunted World : Science as a Candle in the Dark . Peter Freyd Peter John Freyd ( / f r aɪ d / ; born February 5, 1936) is an American mathematician , a professor at the University of Pennsylvania , known for work in category theory and for founding
3390-468: The False Memory Syndrome Foundation . Freyd obtained his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1960; his dissertation, on Functor Theory , was written under the supervision of Norman Steenrod and David Buchsbaum . Freyd is best known for his adjoint functor theorem. He was the author of the foundational book Abelian Categories: An Introduction to the Theory of Functors (1964). This work culminates in
3503-504: The Federal Bureau of Investigation , local police, social services agencies and childhood protective services in many cases), with wide differences in suspicion and confirmation, often in disagreement with each other. Finkelhor, upon receiving a "confirmation", would collect information from whoever was willing or interested to provide it and did not independently investigate the cases, resulting in frequent errors in his conclusions. No data
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3616-599: The Virgin Mary and Archangel Michael . Explanations for a lack of any evidence of abuse on Michelle’s body were that it had been miraculously removed by St. Mary. Not explained was testimony from Michelle’s father and two sisters, contradicting the memoir, as well as a 1955/56 St. Margaret’s School yearbook. The yearbook includes a photo taken in November 1955 showing Michelle attending school and appearing healthy, when according to Pazder’s book Michelle spent that month imprisoned in
3729-612: The Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam and associate professor Anne-Marie Slotboom. In December 2022 Hendriks returned a report which found there is no evidence of organized abuse with ritualistic features and “Overall, victims are the only primary source reporting this type of abuse and no support for its existence is found from other sources.” The majority of adult testimonials were given by adults while they were undergoing psychotherapy , in most cases they were undergoing therapy which
3842-723: The cannibalism of Christian babies and desecration of the Eucharist , and the witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries. Torture and imprisonment were used by authority figures in order to coerce confessions from alleged Satanists, confessions that were later used to justify their executions. Records of these older allegations were linked by contemporary proponents in an effort to demonstrate that contemporary Satanic cults were part of an ancient conspiracy of evil, though ultimately no evidence of devil -worshiping cults existed in Europe at any time in its history. A more immediate precedent to
3955-404: The pentagram to be evidence of a Satanic cult. 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 . There
4068-501: The "panic" ended between 1992 and 1995. The release of the HBO made-for-TV movie Indictment: The McMartin Trial in 1995 re-cast Ray Buckey as a victim of overzealous prosecution rather than an abusive predator, and marked a watershed change in public perceptions of satanic ritual abuse accusations. In 1995, Geraldo Rivera issued an apology for his 1987 television special which had focused on
4181-399: The 1987 Geraldo Rivera television special. Secular proponents appeared, and child protection workers became significantly involved. Law enforcement trainers, many themselves strongly religious, became strong promoters of the claims and self-described "experts" on the topic. Their involvement in child sexual abuse cases produced more allegations of SRA, adding credibility to the phenomenon. As
4294-544: The 1990s, psychologist D. Corydon Hammond publicized a detailed theory of ritual abuse drawn from hypnotherapy sessions with his patients, alleging they were victims of a worldwide conspiracy of organized, secretive clandestine cells who used torture, mind control and ritual abuse to create alternate personalities that could be "activated" with code words; the victims were allegedly trained as assassins, prostitutes, drug traffickers, and child sex workers (to create child pornography ). Hammond claimed his patients had revealed
4407-555: The 1994 Mencken Award winner for Best Book presented by the Free Press Association, Jeffery Victor wrote that, in the United States, the groups most likely to believe rumors of SRA are rural, poorly educated, religiously conservative white blue-collar families with an unquestioning belief in American values who feel significant anxieties over job loss, economic decline and family disintegration. Victor considered rumors of SRA
4520-501: The 2007 book Mistakes Were Made (but Not by Me) , authors Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson cite an ongoing belief in the SRA phenomenon, despite a complete lack of evidence, as demonstration of confirmation bias in believers; it further points out that a lack of evidence is actually considered by believers in SRA as additional evidence, demonstrating "how clever and evil the cult leaders were: They were eating those babies, bones and all." A Salt Lake City therapist, Barbara Snow ,
4633-594: The Dutch House of Representatives approved a motion in which the PvdA, GL and the SP requested that an independent investigation be conducted into the nature and extent of "organized sadistic abuse of children", bypassing Grapperhaus' original refusal to investigate. In a Skeptical Inquirer article JD Sword discusses the outcomes of a subsequent commission appointed by Grapperhaus and led by Jan Hendriks, professor of criminology from
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4746-514: The FMSF "helped revolutionize the way the press and the public view one of the angriest debates in America—whether an adult can suddenly remember long-forgotten childhood abuse". The FMSF originated and popularized the term false memory syndrome to describe a "pattern of beliefs and behaviors" which followed after participation in therapy intended to recover previously unknown memories. The term recovered memory therapy was, in turn, originated as
4859-447: The McMartin children. She coerced disclosures by using lengthy interviews that rewarded discussions of abuse and punished denials. The trial testimony that resulted from such methods was often contradictory and vague on all details except for the assertion that the abuse had occurred. Although the initial charges in the McMartin case featured allegations of Satanic abuse and a vast conspiracy, these features were dropped relatively early in
4972-443: The McMartin preschool trial. Prosecutors used Michelle Remembers as a guide when preparing cases against alleged Satanists. Michelle Remembers , along with other accounts portrayed as survivor stories, are suspected to have influenced later allegations of SRA, and the book has been suggested as a causal factor in the later epidemic of SRA allegations. The early 1980s, during the implementation of mandatory reporting laws, saw
5085-480: The McMartin trial resulted in no convictions for any of the accused, while other cases resulted in lengthy sentences, some of which were later reversed. Scholarly interest in the topic slowly built, eventually resulting in the conclusion that the phenomenon was a moral panic, which, as one researcher put it in 2017, "involved hundreds of accusations that devil-worshipping paedophiles were operating America's white middle-class suburban daycare centers." A 1994 article in
5198-552: The Netherlands, and Scandinavia ), in part enabled by English as a common international language and in the United Kingdom, assisted by Gould's list of indicators. Belief in SRA spread rapidly through the ranks of mental health professionals (despite an absence of evidence) through a variety of continuing education seminars, during which attendees were urged to believe in the reality of Satanic cults, their victims, and not to question
5311-538: The SRA diagnoses maintained that, in the course of attempting to purge society of evil, the panic of the 1980s and 1990s obscured actual child-abuse issues, a concern echoed by author Gary Clapton. In England, the SRA panic diverted resources and attention away from proven abuse cases; this resulted in a "hierarchy" of abuse in which SRA was the most serious form, physical and sexual abuse being minimized and/or marginalized, and "mere" physical abuse no longer worthy of intervention. As criticism of SRA investigations increased,
5424-491: The United States and published a report in 1988. The report found 270 cases of sexual abuse, of which 36 were classified as substantiated cases of ritual abuse. Mary de Young has pointed out that the report's definition of "substantiated" was overly liberal as it required only that one agency had decided that abuse had occurred, even if no action was taken, no arrests made, no operating licenses suspended. In addition, multiple agencies may have been involved in each case (including
5537-511: The United States in the 1980s, spreading throughout many parts of the world by the late 1990s, and persisting today. The panic originated in 1980 with the publication of Michelle Remembers , a book co-written by Canadian psychiatrist Lawrence Pazder and his patient (and future wife), Michelle Smith, which used the controversial and now discredited practice of recovered-memory therapy to make claims about satanic ritual abuse involving Smith. The allegations, which arose afterward throughout much of
5650-409: The United States, involved reports of physical and sexual abuse of people in the context of occult or Satanic rituals. Some allegations involve a conspiracy of a global Satanic cult that includes the wealthy and elite in which children are abducted or bred for human sacrifice , pornography , and prostitution . Nearly every aspect of the ritual abuse is controversial, including its definition,
5763-466: The United States. Religious revivalists also took advantage of the rumors and preached about the dangers of Satanism to youth and presented themselves at paid engagements as secular experts. At the height of the panic, the highly emotional accusations and circumstances of SRA allegations made it difficult to investigate the claims, with the accused being assumed as guilty and skeptics becoming co-accused during trials, and trials moving forward based solely on
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#17328921206105876-434: The abuse as "astonishingly weak and ambiguous" particularly given the severity of the alleged abuse. Therapists however, were found to believe patients more as the allegations became more bizarre and severe. In cases in which patients made claims that were physically impossible, or in cases in which the evidence which was found by police is contradictory, the details which are reported will often change. If patients pointed to
5989-603: The accusations. Three years after its founding, it had more than 7,500 members. As of December 2019, the False Memory Syndrome Foundation was dissolved. This article about an American mathematician is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Satanic panic The Satanic panic is a moral panic consisting of over 12,000 unsubstantiated cases of Satanic ritual abuse ( SRA , sometimes known as ritual abuse , ritualistic abuse , organized abuse , or sadistic ritual abuse ) starting in
6102-438: 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 favor of more nuanced terms such as multi-dimensional child sex rings, ritual/ritualistic abuse, organized abuse or sadistic abuse, some of which acknowledged the complexity of abuse cases with multiple perpetrators and victims without projecting
6215-536: The allegations made by children and adults were the same, in reality the statements made by adults were more elaborate, severe, and featured more bizarre abuse. In 95 percent of the adults' cases, the memories of the abuse were recovered during psychotherapy. For several years, a conviction list assembled by the Believe the Children advocacy group was circulated as proof of the truth of satanic ritual abuse allegations, though
6328-441: The alleged cults. In 1996 astrophysicist and astrobiologist Carl Sagan devoted an entire chapter of his final book, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark to a critique of claims of recovered memories of alien abductions and satanic ritual abuse, citing material from the newsletter of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation . By 2003, allegations of ritual abuse were met with great skepticism, and belief in SRA
6441-584: The appearance of the Church of Satan and other explicitly Satanist groups which added a kernel of truth to the existence of Satanic cults; the development of the social work or child protection field, and its struggle to have child sexual abuse recognized as a social problem and a serious crime; and the popularization of post-traumatic stress disorder , repressed memory , and the corresponding survivor movement. Michelle Remembers , written by Canadians Michelle Smith and her husband, psychiatrist Lawrence Pazder ,
6554-450: The available evidence. Shortly afterward, more than 100 preschools across the country became the object of similar sensationalist allegations, which were eagerly and uncritically reported by the press. Throughout the McMartin trial, media coverage of the defendants (Peggy McMartin and Ray Buckey) was unrelentingly negative, focusing only on statements by the prosecution. Michelle Smith and other alleged survivors met with parents involved in
6667-458: The behest of the government, finding that all of the cases of alleged satanic ritual abuse that could be substantiated were cases where the perpetrators' goal was sexual gratification rather than religious worship. Producing several reports and the 1998 book Speak of the Devil , after reviewing cases reported to police and children's protective services throughout the country, LaFontaine concluded that
6780-490: The cases included: A variety of these allegations resulted in criminal convictions; in an analysis of these cases Mary de Young found that many had had their convictions overturned. Of 22 daycare employees and their sentences reviewed in 2007, three were still incarcerated, eleven had charges dismissed or overturned, and eight were released before serving their full sentences. Grounds included technical dismissals, constitutional challenges and prosecutorial misconduct. SRA and
6893-424: The central themes of the discussion among English child abuse professionals was the assertion that people should simply "believe the children", and that the testimony of children was sufficient proof, which ignored the fact that in many cases the testimony of children was interpreted by professionals rather than the children explicitly disclosing allegations of abuse. In some cases this was simultaneously presented with
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#17328921206107006-597: The conspiracy was masterminded by a Jewish doctor in Nazi Germany , but who now worked for the Central Intelligence Agency with a goal of worldwide domination by a Satanic cult. The cult was allegedly composed of respectable, powerful members of society who used the funds generated to further their agenda. Missing memories among the victims and absence of evidence was cited as evidence of the power and effectiveness of this cult in furthering its agenda. Hammond's claims gained considerable attention, due in part to his prominence in
7119-552: The context of Satanic ritual abuse in the United States was McCarthyism in the 1950s. The underpinnings for the contemporary moral panic were found in a rise of five factors in the years leading up to the 1980s: the establishment of fundamentalist Christianity and the founding and political activism of the religious organization which was named the Moral Majority ; the rise of the anti-cult movement which accused abusive cults of kidnapping and brainwashing children and teens;
7232-587: The coverage focused on false accusations, often involving supposedly false memory" which the author of the study, Katherine Beckett, attributed to FMSF. J.A. Walker claimed the FMSF reversed the gains made by feminists and victims in gaining acknowledgment of the incestuous sexual abuse of children. Responding to this criticism the Foundation stated, "Is it not 'harmful to feminism to portray women as having minds closed to scientific information and as being satisfied with sloppy, inaccurate statistics? Could it be viewed as
7345-427: The diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder (DID); soon after, accounts similar to Michelle Remembers began to appear, with some therapists believing the alter egos of some patients were the result of demonic possession . Protestantism was instrumental in starting, spreading, and maintaining rumors through sermons about the dangers of SRA, lectures by purported experts, and prayer sessions, including showings of
7458-408: The experiences and stories of over two hundred victims of organized sexual abuse. A hundred and forty victims told Argos about ritual abuse. Six well-known people were mentioned as perpetrators by multiple participants in the investigation, and over ten abuse locations. A warehouse in the Bollenstreek was marked as a location for 'storage' and the production of child pornography. During the investigation
7571-411: The explanations for SRA were distanced from evangelical Christianity and associated with "survivor" groups, the motivations ascribed to purported Satanists shifted from combating a religious nemesis, to mind control and abuse as an end to itself. Clinicians, psychotherapists and social workers documented clients with alleged histories of SRA, though the claims of therapists were unsubstantiated beyond
7684-449: The exploration and discussion of these topics. The far-right conspiracy theory movement known as QAnon , which originated on 4chan in 2017, has adopted many of the tropes of SRA and Satanic Panic. Instead of daycare centers being the center of abuse, however, liberal Hollywood actors, Democratic politicians, and high-ranking government officials are portrayed as a child-abusing cabal of Satanists. The term satanic ritual abuse
7797-461: The extreme and bizarre memories uncovered. Proof was provided in the form of unconnected bits of information such as pictures drawn by patients, heavy metal album covers, historical folklore about devil worshippers, and pictures of mutilated animals. During the seminars, patients provided testimonials of their experiences and presenters stressed that recovering memories was important for healing: Media coverage of SRA began to turn negative by 1987, and
7910-486: The factors believed to have led to the construction of the bizarre disclosures of SRA by the children and changes to forensic and interviewing techniques since that time has resulted in a disappearance of the allegations. Analysis of the techniques used in two key cases (the McMartin Preschool and Wee Care Nursery School trials) concluded that the children were questioned in a highly suggestive manner. Compared with
8023-639: The family members escalated after Pamela Freyd published an article in 1991 titled “How Could This Happen? Coping with a False Accusation of Incest and Rape” in the journal Issues in Child Abuse Accusations . Pamela Freyd used the name Jane Doe but details made it obvious who really was responsible, thus outing daughter Jennifer Freyd. The parents decided to form the organization False Memory Syndrome Foundation (FMSF) out of their home in Center City Philadelphia . The term false memory syndrome
8136-495: The field of hypnosis and psychotherapy. Satanic ritual abuse brought together several groups normally unlikely to associate, including psychotherapists, self-help groups, religious fundamentalists and law enforcement. Initial accusations were made in the context of the rising political power of the conservative Christian right within the United States, and religious fundamentalists enthusiastically promoted rumors of SRA. Psychotherapists who were actively Christian advocated for
8249-635: The fire department, that a cause of fire could not be determined. As a response to parliamentary questions following the Argos investigation, Dutch Minister of Justice and Security Ferdinand Grapperhaus said on August 27, 2020, that there would be 'no independent investigation into Ritual Abuse' of children in The Netherlands. The Green Left , the Socialist Party and the Labour Party criticized Grapperhaus for his decision. On October 13, 2020,
8362-552: The focus by social workers on SRA resulted in a large loss of credibility to the profession. SRA, with its sensational narrative of many victims abused by many victimizers, ended up robbing the far-more-common and proven issue of incest against children of much of its societal significance. The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect devised the term religious abuse to describe exorcism , poisoning , and drowning of children in non-satanic religious settings in order to avoid confusion with SRA. Some groups still believe there
8475-522: The idea of SRA, adding a veneer of respectability to the idea as well as offering an opportunity for prosecutors to exchange advice on how to best secure convictions—with tactics including destruction of notes, refusing to tape interviews with children, and destroying or refusing to share evidence with the defense. Had proof been found, SRA would have represented the first occasion where an organized and secret criminal activity had been discovered by mental health professionals. In 1987, Geraldo Rivera produced
8588-442: The idea that it did not matter if SRA actually existed, that the empirical truth of SRA was irrelevant, that the testimony of children was more important than that of doctors, social workers and the criminal justice system. The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect conducted a study led by University of California psychologist Gail Goodman , which found that among 12,000 accusations of ritual or religious-linked abuse, there
8701-410: The implementation of experiments that would involve creating false memories related to childhood sexual abuse. In addition, though the FMSF claims false memories are due to dubious therapeutic practices, the organization presents no data to demonstrate these practices are widespread or form an organized treatment modality. Astrophysicist and astrobiologist Carl Sagan cited material from a 1995 issue of
8814-417: The initial period of interest starting in the early 1980s the term was used to describe a network of Satan -worshipping, secretive intergenerational cults that were supposedly part of a highly organized conspiracy engaged in criminal behaviors such as forced prostitution , drug distribution and pornography . These cults were also thought to sexually abuse and torture children in order to coerce them into
8927-429: The late 1980s, therapists or patients who believed someone had suffered from SRA could suggest solutions that included Christian psychotherapy , exorcism , and support groups whose members self-identified as "anti-Satanic warriors". Federal funding was increased for research on child abuse, with large portions of the funding allocated for research on child sexual abuse. Funding was also provided for conferences supporting
9040-693: The media. Other founding members of the FMSF were psychiatrists from Philadelphia, Martin Orne , Harold Lief . Members of the FMS Foundation Scientific Advisory Board included a number of members of the National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine : Aaron T. Beck , Rochel Gelman , Lila Gleitman , Ernest Hilgard , Philip S. Holzman, Elizabeth Loftus , Paul R. McHugh , and Ulric Neisser . The Scientific Advisory Board included both clinicians and researchers. The FMS Foundation
9153-462: The more extreme interpretations often being seen as evidence of an effective conspiracy rather than an indication that the allegations are unfounded. The religious beliefs or atheism of the disputants have also resulted in different interpretations of evidence, and as well as accusations of those who reject the claims being "anti-child". Both believers and skeptics have developed networks to disseminate information on their respective positions. One of
9266-409: The only rituals she uncovered were those invented by child abusers to frighten their victims or justify the sexual abuse. In addition, the sexual abuse occurred outside of the rituals, indicating the goal of the abuser was sexual gratification rather than ritualistic or religious. In cases involving satanic abuse, the satanic allegations by younger children were influenced by adults, and the concerns over
9379-429: The organization itself no longer exists and the list itself is "egregiously out of date". Two investigations were carried out to assess the evidence for SRA. In the United Kingdom, a government report produced no evidence of SRA, but several examples of false satanists faking rituals to frighten their victims. In the United States, evidence was reported but was based on a flawed method with an overly liberal definition of
9492-419: The pain of their clients, which is for them more important than the truth of their patients' statements. 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. and a survey of 2,709 American therapists found the majority of allegations of SRA came from only sixteen therapists, suggesting that the determining factor in
9605-864: The phenomenon. By 1986, social worker Carol Darling argued to a grand jury that the conspiracy reached the government. Her husband Brad Darling gave conference presentations about a Satanic conspiracy of great antiquity which he now believed was permeating American communities. In 1985, Patricia Pulling joined forces with psychiatrist Thomas Radecki , director of the National Coalition on Television Violence, to create B.A.D.D. (Bothered About Dungeons and Dragons). Pulling and B.A.D.D. saw role-playing games generally and Dungeons & Dragons specifically as Satanic cult recruitment tools, inducing youth to suicide, murder, and Satanic ritual abuse. Other alleged recruitment tools included heavy metal music , educators, child care centers, and television. This information
9718-497: The problem. While the existence of a specific diagnostic "syndrome" is debated, including amongst FMSF members, researchers affiliated with the FMSF have said that a memory should be presumed false if it involves accusations of satanic ritual abuse due to the unsubstantiated nature of reports and the 1992 FBI investigation on the matter. They further say that memories for events beginning between "birth and age 2" should be considered "with extreme caution". A distinguishing feature of FMS
9831-412: 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. The idea of a murderous Satanic conspiracy created a controversy dividing the professional child abuse community at the time, though no evidence has been found to support allegations of
9944-478: The rituals were delusional or obsessive . 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 trafficking ; though SRA may happen in families, extended families and localized groups, it is not believed to occur in large, organized groups. Investigators considered graffiti such as
10057-406: The rituals were used to frighten or intimidate victims, and psychopathological ritualism in which the rituals were due to mental disorders . 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
10170-460: The role of the " Other ", as well create a scapegoat for complex problems in times of social disruption. The SRA panic repeated many of the features of historical moral panics and conspiracy theories, such as the blood libel against Jews by Apion in the 30s CE, the wild rumors that led to the persecutions of early Christians in the Roman Empire , later allegations of Jewish rituals involving
10283-591: The satanic and ritual aspects were secondary to and used as a cover for sexual abuse. Despite this lack of objective evidence, and aided by the competing definitions of what SRA actually was, proponents claimed SRA was a real phenomenon throughout the peak and during the decline of the moral panic. Despite allegations appearing in the United States, Netherlands, Sweden, New Zealand and Australia, no material evidence has been found to corroborate allegations of organized cult-based abuse that practices human sacrifice and cannibalism. Though trauma specialists frequently claimed
10396-535: 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. In more recent years, discredited allegations of SRA have been levelled against Jimmy Savile during the posthumous investigation into his sexual abuse of children , as well as against former Prime Minister Ted Heath (who was previously falsely accused of SRA during his lifetime). David Finkelhor completed an investigation of child sexual abuse in daycares in
10509-498: The so-called "Satanic Panic" have been called a moral panic and compared to the blood libel and witch-hunts of historical Europe, and McCarthyism in the United States during the 20th century. Stanley Cohen , who originated the term moral panic , called the episode "one of the purest cases of moral panic". The initial investigations of SRA were performed by anthropologists and sociologists, who failed to find evidence of SRA actually occurring; instead they concluded that SRA
10622-468: The source of the allegations and proof thereof, testimonies of alleged victims, and court cases involving the allegations and criminal investigations. The panic affected lawyers, therapists, and social workers who handled allegations of child sexual abuse . Allegations initially brought together widely dissimilar groups, including religious fundamentalists, police investigators, child advocates, therapists, and clients in psychotherapy . The term satanic abuse
10735-403: The testimonies of their clients. In 1987, a list of "indicators" was published by Catherine Gould, featuring a broad array of vague symptoms that were ultimately common, non-specific and subjective, purported to be capable of diagnosing SRA in most young children. By the late 1980s, allegations began to appear throughout the world (including Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand,
10848-412: The testimony of very young children without corroborating evidence. No forensic or corroborating evidence has ever been found for religiously based cannibalistic or murderous SRA, despite extensive investigations. The concern and reaction expressed by various groups regarding the seriousness or threat of SRA has been considered out-of-proportion to the actual threat by satanically-motivated crimes, and
10961-505: The tragedy of real abuse. Founded in March 1992 by Pamela and Peter Freyd, after their thirty-three year old daughter Jennifer Freyd accused her father of sexually abusing her as a teenager. The parents believed that their daughter's memories of abuse were due to a therapist who had influenced fabricated remembrances of abuse when Jennifer sought out therapy for her anxiety attacks over an upcoming Christmas family visit. The accusations between
11074-571: The trial, and it is believed that they influenced testimony against the accused. Kee MacFarlane , a social worker employed by the Children's Institute International , developed a new way to interrogate children with anatomically correct dolls and used them in an effort to assist disclosures of abuse with the McMartin children. After asking the children to point to the places on the dolls where they had allegedly been touched and asking leading questions , MacFarlane diagnosed sexual abuse in virtually all
11187-417: The trial, and prosecution continued only for non-ritual allegations of child abuse against only two defendants. After three years of testimony, McMartin and Buckey were acquitted on 52 of 65 counts, and the jury was deadlocked on the remaining 13 charges against Buckey, with 11 of 13 jurors choosing not guilty. Buckey was re-charged and two years later released without conviction. In 1984, MacFarlane warned
11300-533: The use of Satanic symbols. These cases garnered the label satanic ritual abuse both in the media and among professionals. Childhood memories of similar abuse began to appear in the psychotherapy sessions of adults. In 1983, charges were laid in the McMartin preschool trial , a major case in California, which received attention throughout the United States and contained allegations of satanic ritual abuse. The case caused tremendous polarization in how to interpret
11413-430: Was a result of rumors and folk legends that were spread by "media hype, Christian fundamentalism, mental health and law enforcement professionals and child abuse advocates." 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. Other commentators suggested that the entire phenomenon may be evidence of
11526-497: Was coined to define a set of behaviours and actions resulting from false memories of trauma and/or sexual abuse. The memories are recovered as an adult, usually during therapy and contested by the person accused. This pattern furthered the need to incorporate in order to provide research and advocate for others falsely accused. Initially, the Foundation sought to document the phenomena of false memories, provide support to parents accused by their adult children, and to raise awareness in
11639-498: Was composed of academics and professionals and the organization sought out researchers in the fields of memory and clinical practice to form its advisory board. The goal of the FMSF expanded to become more than an advocacy organization, also attempting to address the issues of memory that seemed to have caused the behavioral changes in their now-adult children. Mike Stanton in the Columbia Journalism Review stated that
11752-610: Was designed to elicit memories of SRA. Therapists claimed that the pain which their patients felt, the internal consistency of their stories and the similarities of the allegations which were made by different patients all proved the existence of SRA, but despite this, the disclosures of patients never resulted in any corroboration; The allegations which were obtained from the alleged victims by mental health practitioners all lacked verifiable evidence, they were entirely anecdotal and they all involved incidents which occurred years or decades earlier. The concern for therapists revolved around
11865-432: Was funded by contributions and had no ties to any commercial ventures. The FMSF dissolved on December 31, 2019, quoting the increasing number of supportive avenues online for discussion regarding false memories. With the increased education of the legal system regarding false or recovered memories, the need for the FMSF had declined. Stanton states that, "Rarely has such a strange and little-understood organization had such
11978-411: Was more common early on; this later became satanic ritual abuse and further secularized into simply ritual abuse . Over time, the accusations became more closely associated with dissociative identity disorder (then called multiple personality disorder) and anti-government conspiracy theories . Initial interest arose via the publicity campaign for Pazder's 1980 book Michelle Remembers , and it
12091-625: Was never any consensus on what actually constituted Satanic ritual abuse. This lack of a single definition, as well as confusion between the meanings of the term ritual ( religious versus psychological ) allowed a wide range of allegations and evidence to be claimed as a demonstration of the reality of SRA allegations, irrespective of which "definition" the evidence supported. Acrimonious disagreements between groups who supported SRA allegations as authentic and those criticizing them as unsubstantiated resulted in an extremely polarized discussion with little middle ground. The lack of credible evidence for
12204-418: Was no evidence for "a well-organized intergenerational satanic cult, who sexually molested and tortured children," although there was "convincing evidence of lone perpetrators or couples who say they are involved with Satan or use the claim to intimidate victims." One such case Goodman studied involved "grandparents [who] had black robes, candles, and Christ on an inverted crucifix—and the children had chlamydia,
12317-497: Was no longer considered mainstream in professional circles; although the sexual abuse of children was and is a real and serious problem, allegations of SRA were essentially false. Reasons for the collapse of the phenomenon include the failure of criminal prosecutions against alleged abusers, a growing number of scholars, officials and reporters questioning the reality of the accusations, and a variety of successful lawsuits against mental health professionals. Some feminist critics of
12430-413: Was published in 1980. Now discredited , the book was written in the form of an autobiography, presenting the first modern claim that child abuse was linked to Satanic rituals. According to the “memoir”, at the age of five Michelle was tortured by her mother for days in "elaborate satanic rituals". As the torture reached a climax, a portal to hell opened and Satan himself appeared, only to be driven away by
12543-481: Was put on probation in 2008 for planting false memories of satanic abuse in patients. One notable client of hers was Teal Swan . The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD), a professional nonprofit organization, is known for its advocacy of contemporary narratives surrounding alleged satanic conspiracies. Historically, the organization has convened annual conference presentations dedicated to
12656-422: Was shared at policing and public awareness seminars on crime and the occult, sometimes by active police officers. None of these allegations held up in analysis or in court. In fact, analysis of youth suicide over the period in question found that players of role-playing games actually had a much lower rate of suicide than the average. Among the conspiracy theories alleged by the panic were that thousands of people
12769-497: Was sustained and popularized throughout the decade by coverage of the McMartin preschool trial . Testimonials, symptom lists, rumors, and techniques to investigate or uncover memories of SRA were disseminated through professional, popular, and religious conferences as well as through talk shows , sustaining and further spreading the moral panic throughout the United States and beyond. In some cases, allegations resulted in criminal trials with varying results; after seven years in court,
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