The Protocol: A Beginning Guide for Advocates, and for Parents and Families of Ritual Abuse Victims and Survivors

Author’s note: the past week has been spent dealing with an influx of new sources and allegations, and this post is designed to provide some much needed clarity on reporting ritual abuse allegations. It’s a basic overview of the concerns and challenges of reporting and navigating the process of documenting ritual abuse claims with respect to child victims.

The reality of ritual abuse is that it is all too often dismissed by police and law enforcement at the allegation stage, but the deeper issue is that survivors often have little if any idea of what an effective reporting process looks like.  This protocol is designed to give survivors a basic roadmap of how to effectively report their abuse.  In the past, advocates and survivors have failed to recognize the need for a holistic approach to abuse reporting, as well as what constitutes effective reporting.  The other challenge that advocates and survivors face is the tendency to operate in the world as they think it ought to be, rather than as it is.  

A holistic approach to abuse reporting recognizes that the current system of reporting requires a great deal of public policy and legal reform before it will be optimal, while also incorporating a working knowledge of the current system to maximize effectiveness within the existing framework for reporting sexual abuse.   This approach also requires advocates and survivors to understand the difference between constructive criticism of that system and destructive criticism.   A hard, pragmatic, and realistic outlook on the timeline of this approach is necessary.  Legislative and policy reform takes years, if not decades.  Change proceeds at an almost glacial pace until a breakthrough moment occurs.   There will be no shortcuts.

Effective reporting is reporting that generates action on the part of social services and law enforcement.   The requirements of effective reporting must be identified, distilled down into simple, straightforward protocols and processes, and communicated to the public in plain language.   Effective reporting also recognizes the reality of a typical victim’s experience and wherewithal.   Ritual abuse victims and survivors often struggle to communicate their memories and experiences in a chronological, sequential, and coherent manner.   Communication is the single biggest challenge a victim or survivor of ritual abuse will face in reporting.   It can takes months, if not years, for a victim or survivor to progress to the point where they can effectively articulate what happened to them at the hands of their abusers.   

This is often because the victim or survivor has undergone extensive sexual and physical trauma in their abuse, with severe psychological and cognitive consequences.   Researchers have documented the fact that childhood abuse has a structural effect on the brain.  Victims of child sexual and physical abuse have thinner myelin coating on their nerve fibers, abnormal molecular level development affecting the cells maintenance and production of myelin, and thicker axons which negatively affect the anterior cingulate cortex, the area of the brain relating to cognitive functioning and emotions.¹

Childhood abuse affects victims at the level of their genetic expression and physiological brain development. In simple terms, the physical structure of the brain is affected.² ³

Those who study the physiology of the brain increasingly find that victims of childhood sexual or physical abuse have physical differences in their brain structure compared to those who were not abused as children. As a result, child victims of extreme abuse grow up to become adults who struggle to effectively communicate coherent narratives describing their abuse. There are additional challenges in ritual abuse, such as the utilization of drugs, including hallucinogens such as peyote. An adult trying to describe what they experienced while under the influence of drugs as a child can easily be mistaken for a psychotic individual.

In addition, within certain ritual abuse groups, the employment of hypnosis as a programming technique, as well as the deliberate application of trauma to induce dissociation in children, presents a further challenge for social services, law enforcement, prosecutors, and advocates. When combined with drugs, these techniques produce severe effects in victims and survivors that destroy their ability to effectively communicate their abuse narrative in a chronological, orderly, or coherent fashion.

Any protocols for ritual abuse victims and survivors will need to account for these realities.   

What is obvious to those who have experience working with ritual abuse survivors and victims is not obvious to the wider public.   It is not obvious to the bureaucracies of law enforcement and social services.   The challenge advocates face is this: bridging the gap between the conventional wisdom that is pervasive within bureaucracies and unconventional realities of ritual abuse.   All too often advocates have become personally invested in advancing an all or nothing approach to communicating the realities of ritual abuse, and instead of achieving a percentage of something, they have yielded 100% of nothing for their efforts.   The problem of ritual abuse is this: those who know it exists from long, hard investigation and documentation are terrible communicators when it comes to relaying the information to the wider public, specifically those who could do something to prosecute and convict the perpetrators of the abuse.   

When those who insist ritual abuse is real and ongoing fail to achieve their objectives with regards to law enforcement and social services, they inevitably resort to accusing law enforcement and social services of complicity or outright corruption.   This does not have the effect of converting police, prosecutors, and social workers into allies.  Instead, it places them on the defensive as they fend off implications that they are potential satanists and ritual abusers themselves.   

If we are to be effective at all, we must change our approach.   

First, we must recognize that the burden of proof is on the accuser.  It is not on the accused, and it is not on the middle party.  Second, we must recognize that as the parties with the burden, we have the obligation of producing evidence that meets or exceeds the burden of proof in a civil or criminal setting, and we must also recognize that we have the responsibility of producing and packaging information in a way that persuades the public.   Finally, we have the sole obligation with respect to these requirements.   Success or failure will depend on our actions alone.   No one owes us a thing.  

We will either earn our progress or guarantee our failure.   

Having a unified protocol that is generally applicable to abuse victims and survivors is a first step towards ensuring that more abuse allegations are reported, accepted, investigated, proven, and used to generate criminal convictions and civil judgments.   As we achieve convictions and judgments, we will also generate credibility with the public and with law enforcement and government personnel.

The protocol must be rooted in existing processes for reporting.  

Over time, we will be able to move the processes towards our objectives in making it easier for victims to report.    In the present time, we must master the current process to achieve the desired outcomes.   We must operate in the world as it is, not was we want it to be if we are to succeed.  

The Process

With regards to DCFS, a victim or a victim’s guardian begins with a referral alleging abuse, neglect, or dependency.   This referral is documented by Intake in the SAFE system.  The minimum required information for a referral includes a “narrative description of a specific occurrence or allegation of abuse, neglect, or dependency.  

Put simply, the number one reason abuse referrals do not go forward with DCFS is that guardians and advocates often file referrals without the requisite information.  They suspect abuse because the minor child is exhibiting signs of abuse, but the minor child has yet to name a perpetrator or make any specific allegation of abuse.   

DCFS will not proceed without a specific allegation of abuse from the minor child.  An Intake caseworker will have one working day from the initial contact with a referent to complete their process and assign the referral to a CPS caseworker.  The CPS caseworker has until midnight of the third working day after assignment from the Intake to make face to face contact with an alleged victim.   

For a referent, a checklist is necessary.   

Do you have an allegation from the child, either to you or to a professional such as a teacher, psychologist, or counselor?   

Did the child name their abuser?   

Do the details of the allegations align with the known facts, in terms of dates and times when the perpetrator was with the alleged victim?  

Have you assembled the documentation, including medical records, release authorizations, police reports, drawings, and writings?  Have you provided the documentation to Intake at DCFS, and do you have additional copies for CPS as a backup?   

Are there third party witnesses, such as teachers, other adults, friends of the minor victim, or anyone else who has knowledge of the victim’s disclosure of abuse?  

Have you assembled the contact information of such third party witnesses and turned it over to DCFS while maintaining a backup copy?   

If the answer to these questions are no, you are not ready to make a referral to DCFS or to law enforcement.  A parent is understandably upset when their child exhibits signs of abuse, but the appropriate process is to take the child to a licensed mental health professional such as a psychologist or a licensed clinical social worker.   If a parent or guardian is unable to afford such services, then the parent or guardian should reach out to a nonprofit or a certified victims advocate to help them navigate the process and ascertain potential resources to help them get services for their child.   

The reality is that patience is required, even when it is excruciating.   Failure to follow the processes outlined above will inevitably lead to a DCFS finding of unsupported, without merit, or a false report.   These realities are not often communicated to parents or the wider public.   As a result, parents who bring their children into DCFS or law enforcement often encounter a bureaucracy that seems dismissive or hostile, when in fact the allegation has not yet ripened to the point of any specifics.   It takes time for a child to reveal the specifics necessary to generate a referral to DCFS that will support a finding of abuse.   

The timeline is different for each child.  The process is therefore different as well.   Some children make explicit allegations of abuse at the beginning, while others show signs of abuse but make no specific allegation until much later.   

As a parent, your job is to provide structure and normalcy for a child who is demonstrating signs of abuse.   The best way to do that is to seek out help from qualified professionals, such as certified victims advocates and mental health professionals.  You must also credibly assess the individuals you are seeking services from as a parent.  What are their qualifications?  What techniques do they employ in interviews with minor children, and do they have a track record of successful referrals to DCFS?   Will they speak to you about those techniques and their qualifications, as well as their record with respect to DCFS and law enforcement?   Do they have a network of qualified physicians who specialize in referrals for minor victims of sexual abuse?   

The answers to these questions are critical.  First, a therapist or LCSW who employs hypnosis should be disqualified, as memories of abuse recovered under hypnosis are generally inadmissible in court.   Second, a therapist or LCSW who holds themselves out as a victim of ritual abuse is not outlining their qualification: they are revealing an issue that could be used against your child in future proceedings.   Third, a therapist who has no prior experience testifying in court proceedings, or who is uncomfortable with that prospect, will not be of much use to you if the allegations proceed to a criminal or civil setting.   Finally, the network and relationship of the therapist with other medical professionals who specialize in sexual abuse examinations is a barometer of their credibility with their peers on the issue of abuse.   

Most of all, realize that you as a parent are the first and biggest advocate for your child.  You can say no.  You can question mental health professionals about anything, including their methodology and techniques.   Credible professionals will not have an issue explaining their methodology or addressing your concerns in plain language.  Be polite, be civil, but be firm.  If you feel you need to switch providers, do so.  Speak up.  Your only concern should be securing the best possible outcome for your child’s interests.   

As a parent, you will want to lean on your extended family if at all possible for support.  That means making them aware of the issue, and asking for help.  Your child is potentially facing months of therapy related to the possibility of their abuse, as well as medical exams to corroborate their abuse allegations.  These things will take place before you go to DCFS or law enforcement.   

The benefit of following a protocol or adhering to a process is this: by the time your child talks face to face with a CPS caseworker or police officer, they will be prepared.  They will have spent time in therapy becoming comfortable outlining the allegations of their abuse, and they will be able to fluently communicate with a CPS caseworker or law enforcement professional.  This will ensure a much higher probability of successfully referring an abuse allegation, and it will also ensure a higher likelihood that DCFS follows through on the referral.  

Moreover, the time spent receiving therapy services will have a tremendous benefit to the child, as they are under treatment with a qualified professional.   Finally, take care of yourself.  The stress of knowing that your child may be an abuse victim is tremendous, but as a parent, you have to be at your optimum level at all times.  That means taking care of yourself mentally, physically, and spiritually to the best of your abilities.   Self care is childcare for parents.   Certified victims advocates and nonprofits can refer to you to support groups, therapists, and resources to help you.  

Conclusion

Investigations in Ritual Abuse is actively working on a holistic approach to the issue of ritual abuse as it pertains to reporting, legislative reform, and building a referral network of qualified professionals.   If you’re a certified victims advocate or mental health professional willing to provide services to ritual abuse victims and their families, let us know at 1830goel@gmail.com. If you’re an individual who’s willing to fund medical examinations or services for victims and families who are unable to afford those services on their own, let us know, and we’ll refer you to one of our nonprofit partners. If you’re a victim or a source with information, as always, we’d like to hear from you.

If you’d like to donate to IRA directly, you can here. This past week has seen us deal with an influx of new sources, which requires a great deal of legwork to verify claims and run down information. We’re always working, so if you’re a perpetrator, know that we’re always up. We’ll see you soon.

1. Pierre-Eric Lutz , M.D., Ph.D., Arnaud Tanti , Ph.D., Alicja Gasecka , Ph.D., et al. The American Journal of Psychiatry. Association of a History of Child Abuse With Impaired Myelination in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex: Convergent Epigenetic, Transcriptional, and Morphological Evidence. 28 Jul. 2017. available at: https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.16111286 ]

2. Department of Health and Human Services. Understanding the effects of maltreatment on brain development. In: Child Welfare Information Gateway. Washington, DC; 2015.

3. Teicher MH, Anderson CM, et al. Childhood maltreatment: Altered network centrality of cingulate, precuneus, temporal pole and insula. Biol Psychiatry. 2014;76(4):297-305. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.09.016