Satanic child abuse claims are almost certainly based on false memories | Chris French | Science | The Guardian

If the situation is different this time and there exists forensic evidence to support the claims being made, it is vital that such evidence is passed to the police as soon as possible. But this looks unlikely. As Lumbasi says in the Scottish Express, “In most cases, we can’t blame the police for not taking action. If they have no actual evidence such as names, times or places to go with, what can they do?”

Keep in mind as you're reading this article that French is raising doubts about the specific claims made by the charities. These claims state that satanic abuse, involving child and animal sacrifice and other extreme behaviors, is rife in Scotland and has been for decades. Very similar to claims that were widespread in the US in the 1980s and 90s (the Satanic Panic) but were never substantiated with physical evidence. Instead, there is strong evidence to support the idea that the claims were either based upon the use of inappropriate dubious memory recovery techniques or inappropriate child interview techniques

“EXCLUSIVE: Charities claim that the satanic abuse of children is rife” screamed the headline in the Express on Sunday earlier this month. The piece reports that two charities, Kilmarnock-based Break the Silence and Dundee-based Izzy’s Promise, believe satanic abuse to be rife in Scotland and that it has been for decades. They say children are forced to take part in satanic rituals involving the sacrifice of babies and the making of snuff movies. According to Kate Short of Break the Silence, “Victims are so brainwashed they don’t dare to speak out.” These are obviously extremely serious allegations – but are they true?

A similar, although more detailed, story ran on the same day in the Scottish Express. Both stories point out that Police Scotland has said it is taking the allegations “incredibly seriously”. Following the Jimmy Savile child sex abuse scandal, it would be very surprising if they had said anything else. We now know that many of Savile’s victims had complained of being abused at his hands at the time the abuse was taking place and that they were ignored by those in authority. That this happened is a disgrace and the result was that Savile was free to abuse dozens, possibly hundreds, more victims.

Have complaints of extreme satanic abuse been routinely made over the years and similarly ignored or suppressed by the authorities? A comment from Short suggests otherwise. She is quoted as saying that “survivors often suppressed their memories of such harrowing childhood events and therefore the specific details are vague, meaning they can be written off as suffering from of ‘false memory syndrome’ or mental illness.”

Similarly, Joseph Lumbasi, project coordinator with Izzy’s Promise, states that, “People who talk to us are relating us their experiences from when they were maybe just eight, nine or ten – kids really.” In other words, it appears highly likely that many of these claims are based upon “recovered memories”. As I have written in the past in these pages, the use of various dubious techniques by therapists and counsellors aimed at recovering allegedly repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse can often produce detailed and horrific false memories.
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In fact, there is a consensus among scientists studying memory that traumatic events are more likely to be remembered than forgotten, often leading to posttraumatic stress disorder. So despite widespread acceptance among the general public, legal professionals, and those working in mental health, the very notion of repression as described by Short is doubted by the majority of memory researchers.

The sad truth is that we have been here before. On 13 March 1990, the headline of the Daily Mirror read, “Kids forced into satan orgies”. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children had reported that satanic abuse was widespread in the UK.

Satanic child abuse claims are almost certainly based on false memories | Chris French | Science | The Guardian