Forensic Considerations in Ritual Trauma Cases
is difficult, if not impossible, to obtain. Therefore, an investigative paradigm that is designed to assist professionals in overcoming these and other obstacles must be created and incorporated into any existing multidisciplinary framework addressing the sexual abuse of children.
Children who have been sexually abused in conjunction with ritual trauma do not readily disclose the ritual aspects of their abuse. In fact, disclosure of this aspect of their abuse is usually extremely delayed due to a variety of psychological factors that often accompany this type of trauma. In cases involving child sexual abuse, it is both common and appropriate for professionals to assess veracity by looking for consistency in a child’s disclosure. However, in a genuine case of ritual trauma, a child’s disclosures involving abuse will naturally be both inconsistent and “incredible” in nature. This is primarily due to the manner in which the child has been victimized, as well as the frequent use of drugs in conjunction with this type of abuse. These dynamics are covered in this material in an effort to assist professionals in recognizing, assessing, and properly handling these cases.
II. UNDERSTANDING RITUAL TRAUMA
A. DEFINITION
There have been many attempts to label and define ritual trauma in a context that can be understood and universally referenced by various professionals, clinicians, and researchers. However, given the nature of the abuse, the diversity of the perpetrators, and the many manifestations which ritual crime can take, this task has not been easy or without controversy. Undaunted by this challenge, some states have managed to pass specific legislation prohibiting and/or providing for increased penalties for certain criminal acts of a ritualized nature.
Although accounts of ritual trauma as an extremely sadistic form of child abuse and neglect date back several centuries, it is a phenomenon which has only been recently recognized, studied, and publicized. Modern revelations concerning ritual trauma have coincided with an increased awareness of child abuse in general, and the recognition of multiple personality and dissociative disorders by the medical, psychiatric, and psychological communities.
In 1988, the Los Angeles County Commission for Women organized a Task Force of professionals from the fields of law, medicine, mental health, education, law enforcement, religion, and social work to study and develop a report concerning the existence and problem of ritual abuse. Working with adult survivors and parents of child victims, the Task Force published a definitive report on the nature of ritual trauma and described it
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