(The Dominion is Wellington's morning paper)
A movement, well-intentioned, to help people who have been sexually abused and protect women and children from sexual harm, has become grossly perverted.
In particular, this is a dogma that women and children "must always be believed", and that false allegations are very unlikely to occur.
Much of the philosophy and protocols of reforms introduced in the eighties to correct the inadequacy of sexual assault detection and management was imported from the United States. Unfortunately, some very faulty assumptions underpin the sexual abuse field. There is now overwhelming evidence that along with dealing with genuine abuse, unscientific and often misguided investigative and therapeutic practices have created large numbers of false allegations, seldom recognised by workers in the field.
Overseas "experts" on the workshop-lecture circuit are brought to New Zealand and disseminate this pseudoscience and pop psychology. The use of protocols and techniques that inadvertently lead women and children to believe they have suffered sexual trauma when these events never occurred can be seen to be a new form of abuse.
Studies, figures and statistics are used to "prove" whatever stand is wanted, and there is a particular reluctance in this area for such figures to be challenged professionally. The broadening of definition of "sexual abuse" and the dissemination of misleading statistics regarding its prevalence has resulted in society moving from never believing in the phenomenon to a climate of hypersensitivity and hysteria. This has inevitably contributed to the escalation of false claims of abuse.
Concepts of victim advocacy and "gender feminists" ideology have gravely undermined the principles of justice and commitment to scientific methodology. The basic forensic evidence-gathering principles of objectivity and neutrality have been seriously compromised by therapeutic practices of validating and supporting clients. Growing public awareness of these unscientific practices may result in efforts to deal with genuine abuse being compromised by widespread loss of credibility in our services.
A chief concern is that this field is not open to challenge: there is only orthodoxy or heresy. Suppression of information, fuelled by a political agenda to effect social change, inhibits the individual's free access to knowledge on which to make informed decisions. In the process, lives are devastated and families torn apart.
Despite recent papers written by eminent scholars and professionals addressing current knowledge about "memory repression" and about ways in which children's testimony may be contaminated, sexual abuse trainers appear to have no interest in distributing information indicating that false allegations are a significant and real problem. Commonly, any challenging voice is dismissed as a "pro-abuse backlash". Education about issues of false allegations is hampered by the entrenched interests of professional groups claiming to be the only authority on child sexual abuse.
While caution is now being preached with regard to suggesting sexual abuse to clients, both local and international "experts" continue to endorse the validity of recovered memories and suggest that false allegations are rare.
The three areas where false allegations are likely to occur are in the child access and custody disputes; when adults recover memories of childhood abuse not previously remembered, especially when hypnosis-like "memory recovering techniques" have been used; and when a child who initially denies abuse undergoes investigation and interrogation on the basis of adult suspicion that abuse has occurred.
The latter situation includes preschool children in childcare centers making multiple bizarre allegations of horrendous abuse.
I have documentation of several hundred New Zealand cases of alleged allegations, with roughly equal numbers in each categories. In the Christchurch Civic Creche case, 20 children came to make accusations of perverted sadistic torture, including satanic abuse, against many adults, including the entire staff of the centre. The similarity of this case with a number of North American childcare cases (in which all defendants were found not guilty or have had their convictions overturned on appeal) is staggering.
The original complaint stemmed from a comment made by a boy whose mother worked in the sexual abuse field and who interpreted his statement to mean he had been sexually abused by childcare worker Peter Ellis.
He did not later disclose abuse but his comments set the scene for parents, health professionals and investigators to suspect widespread abuse in the creche.
This initiated the process of sexual abuse "education" and interrogation that ensued, resulting in allegations involving tunnels, satanic "circles", perverted acts such as inserting sticks and needles in vaginas and anuses, eating faeces, drinking urine and making pornography.
A generation of children is growing up to view the world as a malevolent place where no one can be trusted in case they molest you, and adults are increasingly fearful that gestures of comfort or affection may be misconstrued by children as sexual abuse.
"Abuse protection programmes" have been introduced from preschool to secondary school. Many children first learn about sex in terms of socially abhorrent deviant behaviour, something wrong, dangerous, hurtful or illegal. Giving this type of information to children without teaching them about their bodies and about developing adult sexuality in the framework of loving, mutually satisfying relationships, may prevent normal development of childhood sexuality with devastating effects at maturity.
Because of the potential for serious repercussions, allegations should not be made lightly, and investigations should be pursued scientifically and objectively. Before intervention we must take care that first we do no harm.
Dr Goodyear-Smith holds the 1995 Glaxo Foundation fellowship enabling her to distribute information about repressed memory theory to New Zealand post-graduate societies. Last month she presented a paper to the International Forum for Child Protectors and Clients in Holland. Dr. Goodyear-Smith is also the author of the book: "First Do No Harm". Dr. Felicity Goodyear-Smith should be able to be contacted c/o the Auckland Medical School, Auckland, New Zealand.
As a foot note, the childcare worker Peter Ellis is still in jail on a sentence of eight years, even though one of the major child witnesses had admitted that she was lying, an new appeal was not granted by the Court of Appeal. This is one of the darkest chapters in New Zealand's legal history. Foot note by Gerald (posting to the Witch Hunt Mailing List)