A cult is a group of people who share an obsessive devotion to a person or
idea. The cults described in this book use violent tactics to recruit,
indoctrinate, and keep members. Ritual abuse is defined as the emotionally,
physically, and sexually abusive acts performed by violent cults. Most
violent cults do not openly express their beliefs and practices, and they
tend to live separately in noncommunal environments to avoid detection.
Some victims of ritual abuse are children abused outside the home by
nonfamily members, in public settings such as day care. Other victims are
children and teenagers who are forced by their parents to witness and
participate in violent rituals. Adult ritual abuse victims often include
these grown children who were forced from childhood to be a member of the
group. Other adult and teenage victims are people who unknowingly joined
social groups or organizations that slowly manipulated and blackmailed them
into becoming permanent members of the group. All cases of ritual abuse, no
matter what the age of the victim, involve intense physical and emotional
trauma.
Violent cults may sacrifice humans and animals as part of religious rituals.
They use torture to silence victims and other unwilling participants. Ritual
abuse victims say they are degraded and humiliated and are often forced to
torture, kill, and sexually violate other helpless victims. The purpose of
the ritual abuse is usually indoctrination. The cults intend to destroy these
victims' free will by undermining their sense of safety in the world and by
forcing them to hurt others.
In the last ten years, a number of people have been convicted on sexual abuse
charges in cases where the abused children had reported elements of ritual
child abuse. These children described being raped by groups of adults who
wore costumes or masks and said they were forced to witness religious-type
rituals in which animals and humans were tortured or killed. In one case, the
defense introduced in court photographs of the children being abused by the
defendants[1] In another case, the police found tunnels etched with crosses
and pentacles along with stone altars and candles in a cemetery where abuse
had been reported. The defendants in this case pleaded guilty to charges of
incest, cruelty, and indecent assault[2] Ritual abuse allegations have been
made in England, the United States, and Canada.[3]
Many myths abound concerning the parents and children who report ritual
abuse. Some people suggest that the tales of ritual abuse are "mass
hysteria." They say the parents of these children who report ritual abuse are
often overly zealous Christians on a "witch-hunt" to persecute satanists.
These skeptics say the parents are fearful of satanism, and they use their
knowledge of the Black Mass (a historically well-known, sexualized ritual in
which animals and humans are sacrificed) to brainwash their children into
saying they were abused by satanists.[4] In 1992 I conducted a study to
separate fact from fiction in regard to the disclosures of children who
report ritual abuse.[5] The study was conducted through Believe the Children,
a national organization that provides support and educational sources for
ritual abuse survivors and their families.
— Margaret Smith
#brainwash #child-abuse #cult #emotional-abuse #free-will
