In view of the extremely limited research on RA (ritual abuse), the presenters conducted a scoping review guided by PRISMA-SCR to answer the fundamental question, “What is the state of research on ritual abuse?” Twenty databases (criminal justice, allied health sciences, social sciences, humanities, and law) were searched for English-language publications that focused on RA with no date restrictions, resulting in 286 articles retained. Search terms included “ritual abuse”, “multi-perpetrator abuse”, and “organized abuse”. The existence of RA remains strongly contested. For instance, the extreme ends of the controversy involve RA disclosures being described as completely false, or as revealing a previously hidden epidemic. This presentation focuses on results related to the harms of denying its existence. In vivo and descriptive coding were applied to descriptions of harms extracted from the articles. Categorizing the codes led to a theme of denial causing stigma and lack of knowledge, both of which created harm to: (1) survivors from social isolation, misdiagnosis, lack of evidence-based treatments, and difficulty developing a working relationship with a provider; (2) professionals from professional isolation for believing survivors, and lack of training; (3) justice from lack of investigation of ritual crime, and training for such investigations; and (4) knowledge from lack of political will and funding for research. The results indicate that denial results in significant multidimensional harm to survivors and professionals, and impedes knowledge progress and justice. The presenters conclude with recommendations for mitigating harms and directions for further research that integrate survivor, professional and academic knowledge.
Trigger Warning: This presentation contains information (written, spoken, or visual) that may be triggering or (re)traumatizing to attendees.
Svali has been advocating for survivors of ritual abuse and mind control (RAMC) for over 30 years. As a survivor, her publications and interviews seek to raise awareness and improve support and services for survivors. She strongly believes in research that creates knowledge beneficial to survivors and debunk the narratives that harm RAMC survivors.
Logan Knight is an assistant professor at the School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas. As a survivor-researcher-advocate, she is committed to socially just, inclusive and equitable research with survivors. Her research focuses on resilience and renewing discourses in order to center the dignity and strengths of survivors of all kinds of trafficking, including ritual abuse.