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The
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A Ann-Marie
Stapp, who prefers to define ritual abuse as "organised and systematic
abuse," has called for calm on the issue rather than hysteria about the
perceived "Satanic" connotations of the word "ritual". Whatever
the term, she describes the abuse as physical, sexual and emotional abuse of
children which also has ceremonial and public, or group, aspects. She believes
organised abuse rings of this nature exist throughout Ms
Stapp's revelations come in the wake of a visit to * A
response by the Skeptics group that accusations of "ghoulish Satanic sex
abuse" would surface in * An
attempt by FACADE (False Accusations of Child Abuse Damage Everyone) to meet
with Ms Hudson. FACADE
was launched in September by the four women charged, but subsequently
discharged before trial, in the
Christchurch Civic Childcare Centre hearings; Gaye Davidson, Debbie
Gillespie, Jan Buckingham and Marie Keys. Its
stated aims are to change the way child sexual abuse cases are handled and to
reduce what is described as "the national climate of hysteria and
fear." Ms
Stapp, who describes herself as a family violence prevention consultant, has
a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Sociology and an Applied Masters degree in
Social Work from Victoria University of Wellington. She
says: "My job, as a researcher, is not to disbelieve, but to collect
stories and make sense of them." She
is urging the public to remain open minded and not to dismiss these stories
of abuse as fabrication or "false memory." Sergeant
Tony Greig, of Christchurch Police's Child Abuse Team, 'says he has not heard
of Ms Stapp, or from her. "Whatever
she's got to say will be news to me as much as to anyone else. "We're
not saying ritual abuse isn't happening, but it does not feature in our
investigations at the moment." In
appealing for a calm approach, Ms Stapp said that survivors of organised and
systematic abuse deserved a sympathetic ear rather than being labelled as
"crazy." "Originally
people had trouble believing children were being sexually abused. It was so
horrific they didn't want to believe it was happening. I
think we have the same situation today with this systematic abuse. "People
are rejecting that its taking place because they do not want to face up to
it. It's too big and overwhelming." Adds
Ms Stapp, who talks of survivors rather than victims: "This
sort of abuse also has an extra aspect, which is mental control based on
fear." She
cites examples of "survivors" fearing for their own or their
parents' safety if they talked of their experiences, which included indecent
acts with other children or animals. Some
were convinced objects had been implanted in their stomachs by abusers and
that these objects would activate and harm them if they talked. Ms
Stapp said children abused in an organised and systematic way some years
later had problems with alcohol and drug addiction which they had to work through
before they dealt with the abuse. The
people she had talked to were not interested in revenge - they just wanted
some understanding and support. They were unlikely to seek help in a climate
of "hysteria and paranoia," she said. Ms
Stapp said that in researching the subject she had found survivors who had
remembered what had happened to them and felt able to talk about it. "Many
are carrying around a lot of guilt. They may have problems with alcohol or
have been suicidal. "The question is, why would anyone want
to make up these horrific stories?" |
