 It is over 20 years since the rash of allegations that rituals of devil worship, including the sexual abuse of children, the sacrifice, and (sometimes) eating, of animals, children and even babies as well as other extreme acts of depravity were being conducted across the U.K. In 1994 I reported to the Department of Health that in the 84 cases in England and Wales that were the basis of my research, I could find no supporting evidence for the existence of such a satanic cult. The allegations have not stopped however, although they no longer get the publicity they used to have as, officially, satanic or ritual abuse no longer exists. It is not mentioned in guidance to social workers on the subject of abuse of children. However, a particularly unpleasant case of false SRA accusations that occurred in Hampstead in 2014 has recently been widely reported in the press (covered in the BFMS newsletter in Sept.2015).  The persistence of these allegations into the twenty-first century repeats the questions that I thought I had answered at the end of the twentieth! These are, (1) How is it that ‘victims’ can tell stories of gruesome experiences that they never had? These two questions are also raised by the cases of so-called ‘historic abuse’. The answers are interrelated though I shall try and deal with them separately here. Believe the Children
The title Believe the Children referred to the myth that it was young children who had told of the satanic abuse. It was supported by the firm belief, almost dogma, that such children do not lie and therefore that what they disclosed about the existence of satanic or ritual abuse was indubitably the truth. However, the stories that were publicised as what young victims told social workers, foster parents and other sympathetic adults in claimed U.K. cases were actually nothing of the sort. They were what adults said the children told them and, as I was able to show, there were various reasons why this was not what the children said. Most children are quite quick to pick up what adults want from them, although a four year old boy in one case suffered 33 questions about ghosts before he began to talk about the ghosts at his home. Some children were particularly adept at fulfilling the prejudices of adults and it was noticeable that in any case that involved several children, there were only one or two who were the main source of the authorities’ alleged information. In some cases, these children told the others or ‘explained’ to the less sensitive what had allegedly happened. Others incorporated bits of films and other television material that they had seen and remembered and one slightly older girl, when pressed for details said in astonishment: “But I was in my dream”, clearly indicating what she was using as an account of what had happened to her. In most cases there was pressure on the children to respond to requests to “tell”. When they did not, it was generally thought by their inquisitors that the devil-worshippers had prevented them from doing so, using magical procedures such as spiders on the wall or “trigger words” which, when spoken, silenced the children. I need only refer briefly to the effect of mistakes in transcriptions of interviews that altered what was said. In one case these errors were carefully elucidated by a consultant who checked their accuracy, finding over and over again that mistakes in transcribing altered what the children actually said. The report might record ‘No’ as an answer when a video recording showed a child responding ‘Yes’ or vice versa. Using leading questions, the alleged stories of other children’s alleged stories and promises of rewards were other means by which counterfeit responses were obtained. The results usually reflected and confirmed the adults’ preconceptions. There are some recognisable parallels with cases of recovered memories.  First, note the parallel with the popular dogma that ‘victims’ should always be believed.
Det. Supt. Kenny McDonald, the investigator of allegations of
‘historic’ child abuse in Dolphin Square, an experienced police officer,
recently pronounced the alleged victim’s claims as credible and true BEFORE any investigations had been concluded. [Ed His pronouncement was later castigated by his superiors and he was moved off the case: see http://saff.nfshost.com/panoramavip.htm for full background] Well-known therapists such as Valerie Sinason, have insisted that therapists must discard the previous understanding that a patient’s story is true for the teller, though not necessarily for the hearer, and convince themselves of the reality of the patient’s account. This approach, while no  doubt
easing the strain for victims who try to recount what happened, risks
serious miscarriages of justice. Belief in sincerity is not the same as a
conclusion, based on good evidence, that the truth has been uncovered.A second parallel can be drawn between the vulnerable children who were pressured by the authorities to ‘tell’ everything they had suffered and the vulnerable men and women, sometimes disturbed, often depressed, who felt pressure from the counsellor, psychotherapist or analyst to search their memories for what the questioner ‘knew’ must be there. The silence of the children and the blankness of patients’ memories were both taken to mean the existence of serious trauma and/or the ability of the perpetrators to control what their victims were able to say. Very few of those who believed in the existence of satanic cults were prepared to believe that silence meant that there was nothing to say. "Very few of those who believed in the existence of satanic cults were prepared to believe that silence meant that there was nothing to say."  However
not all children were young and vulnerable in this way. The teenagers
who figured in some cases resembled the adults in some cases of historic
abuse in that they were active participants in the creation of the stories of what they had suffered. Here
again it was pressure to tell that encouraged the expounding of
horrific stories of what they had seen and had suffered themselves. As
one near-teenager explained: “ You lot are into these things and the police and social workers wanted to hear them so I thought I had to say something and I went from there”. Teenagers, like ‘survivors’ of ritual abuse, have many opportunities to learn from each other and from printed materials what is expected. Some of them chose the people to listen who showed a disposition to believe everything that was said. The lengthy sessions with these confidants, with social workers or therapists were occasions when the ‘story’, whether of ‘satanic’ or ‘historic’ abuse was put together. [Ed: See news cutting in rightmost panel for classic example of this co-authoring by believers and 'victims' of Satanic Abuse stories] Apart from the dogma that victims must be believed where did the pressure to ‘tell’ come from?  There
are several elements that make up the deep convictions which caused it.
In half the cases I studied the children had suffered sexual abuse,
usually in their homes, and in many of those cases and in some others
they had been badly mistreated as well. As one campaigner put it: ‘It was hard to believe that [ordinary] people could be capable of such evil’.For evangelical Christians an explanation was provided by the perpetrators’ alleged allegiance to the devil and this explanation was accepted by the irreligious who did not themselves believe in Satan. The argument that the cult members may believe in him was seen to be sufficient. Equally, it is important to stress that the alleged sexual abuse of the teenagers concerned was far less well established. For example when one of them had an abortion, the identity of the father was never mentioned and in other cases the girls’ accounts were clearly fabrications. All encompassing sexual abuse symptoms - Satanic Indicators
Another
idea, drawn from what has been said to be a misreading of Freud,
asserted that most, if not all psychological illness or damage, came
from earlier traumas caused by sexual abuse.
[Ed: Freud claimed that most 'complexes' resulted from the repression
of unacceptable sexual desires, not that complexes were created by sexual abuse ] |
‘ Experts’ in the diagnosis of trauma in children circulated lists of
the ‘indicators’ that pointed to the greatest trauma: ritual abuse.
Many of these 'ritual abuse indicators', such as bed-wetting were common symptoms of
psychological disturbance and therefore, not surprisingly, occurred in
the children taken into care. 
The
authority of experts who spoke at conferences and on television, and
who constructed lists of ‘indicators’ of satanic abuse were taken as
guaranteeing the validity of their views. Such people claimed to possess
knowledge of which those who listened were ignorant.
Have you read La Fontaine's SRA report or are you a victim of the conspiracy to obscure the truth which has destroyed the lives of thousands?Has there been a tacit conspiracy of omission attenuating distribution and availability of The government's official report by Prof. La Fontaine "The Extent and Nature of Organised and Ritual Abuse: Research Findings" ?The SAFF believe that the difficulty in obtaining it has lead to the perpetuation of the lies and the damage the myth has done to society over the intervening 21 years since its publication.  Although
heralded nationally at the time and covered at length in most national
and local newspapers, as well as on radio and TV, it is now almost impossible to obtain.It cannot easily be found in a search of the HMSO website. It cannot be found in a search of the new TSO website and it is not readily found in as search of the government catalogue of publications or the British Library. Though we did find mention of it in the National Library of Scotland! The owner of the Sorcerer's Apprentice bookshop (which was firebombed by fundamentalists over the Cook Report's discredited claims) tells us that even when it was first published HMSO seemed to put hurdles in front of every purchase of it. The Sorcerers' Apprentice Bookshop has been in business for 40 years and stocked 20,000 books on its shelves so was used to regularly ordering rare treatises from publishers across the world. He says: "Never did we have as much trouble as when we tried to order "The Extent and Nature of Organised and Ritual Abuse: Research Findings". First HMSO imposed a minimum order value. Then would not invoice. They demanded pre-payment but would not accept an order unless on one of their pro-forma invoices; which had to be requested. Sometimes that pro-forma would never arrive. Eventually, after dozens of attempts, even though it was crucial to the bookshop owners own history, he had to give up. He says over the years that people regularly ask him for copies of the report but he cannot help them and directs them to HMSO, though HMSO doesn't actually deal with the public. These people presumably have also tried elsewhere and failed to get a copy of it. Occasionally a second hand copy might pop up on Amazon.com but citizens will find it exceedingly difficult to obtain a vital public document to breach the SRA myth and this difficulty has played into the hands of the pro-SRA lobby which appears to be able to get feminist publishers, radical social work publishers and left-wing publishers to print and distribute their pro-SRA propaganda by the cartload. Was there a conspiracy to hide this crucial information - or is it just another example of the stupidity of government bureaucracy and the small-mindedness of HMSO?  To help you obtain a copy new or second hand here are the
details and ISBN courtesy of the National Library of Scotland: Title: The Extent And Nature of Organised and Ritual Abuse, Subtitle: Research Findings Author: Prof. Jean La Fontaine Corporate Author: Great Britain, Department of Health Publisher H.M.S.O Date published: 1994 Place: London ISBN: 0113217978, 9780113217977 Meanwhile you can read a précis review of it from http://www.religioustolerance.org/ra_rep01.htm  Or even better, obtain Prof La Fontaine's own detailed hard cover book "SPEAK OF THE DEVIL" written shortly after her government report and encapsulating all the essential research she completed on the SRA issue but did not have space to discuss in the official report, coupled with an overview of the witch-hunt mentality and its social implications. SPEAK OF THE DEVIL: TALES OF SATANIC ABUSE IN CONTEMPORARY ENGLAND by J.S. La Fontaine. Cambridge University Press, 1998. 224pp. ISBN-10: 0521629349 ISBN-13: 978-0521629348 This excellent book was purchased and distributed widely therefore can be obtained second hand relatively easily on the web. Amazon had a dozen copies available last time we looked. To whet your appetite here's a link to a partial review of it: http://www.academia.edu/239737/Speak_Of_The_Devil_by_Jean_La_Fontaine |
Valerie Sinason's 'Devil Report' is Invalid on standard research grounds
Professor La Fontaine has sent the SAFF these pertinent
extracts from a formal letter she has written to Bruce Clark of the DoH
department which authorised Sinason's 'research' into Satanic Ritual Abuse
' 1. The only valid reason for repeating a piece of work is that there is evidence that renders its conclusions suspect. There is no mention of such evidence and it seems unlikely that there was any because the proposed research by Valerie Sinason and Dr Hale did not propose to use comparable data. Moreover my report, The Extent and Nature of Organised and Ritual Abuse, ( ISBN 0113217978 HMSO 1994 ) was extensively reviewed by the Research Department's peer review requirement. "Complaints" about conclusions are not evidence about the work, merely about the views of the complainers, and should not be considered in themselves as reasons for funding further research.'
'Funding; - A better explanation is due..'
'2. Ms Sinason's research is presented as though it were funded by the DoH in the normal way. It was not. It was not funded by the Research Section of the DoH (a fact that you omit to mention), there was no peer review of the proposal and neither of the applicants had research experience. I was told by Dr Hale in the summer of 1998 that the research report to the DoH was nearly finished. Now you deny you have it but refrain from mentioning that this means it is nearly 2 years overdue. What has happened? Given that public money has been involved I think a better explanation than was offered is due.
'Professor Jean La Fontaine, emeritus professor of anthropology, LSE
