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The Press
Friday, April 7, 1995.
Creche inquiry
Letter to the Editor
by John Dobson, Psychiatrist, April 2, 1995
I enjoyed Professor Michael Hill's historical review of satanic ritual abuse
(March 31) and how mythology arises, reflecting changing attitudes in
society. However sceptics, offended by evangelical fervour, ignore the solid
evidence (not distorted by the adversarial court process) that some young
children are subjected to distressing sexual molestation by adults which is
likely to cause persisting adverse effects on their mental health.
Your editorial ignores the establishment of investigating teams with special
training following the 1989 Ward 24 charge, and the TVNZ programme, shown
illegally, about proceedings in the Children and Young Persons Court.
The core problem is the well-documented vulnerability to distortion and
embellishment of recall by adults of traumatic events in their early
childhood, especially earlier than age five. This has been known for decades.
Sadly, Professor Hill wrecks his credibility by dismissing as a
"psychiatric artefact post-traumatic stress disorder". This
condition, subjected to several name changes since before 1914, is well
documented as an adverse effect of combat experience during warfare.
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