What lies behind the term organised ritual abuse? Which perpetrator structures are involved? Reports from those who have escaped show that numerous cults and networks of varying sizes exist with different focusses but which are interlinked.
++ Warning, this text contains triggers ++
Through our exit assistance program, we have supported many different survivors of Organized Ritual Abuse. They came from various parts of Germany and even from other European countries. Each survivor had different backgrounds regarding their perpetrators. However, some overarching patterns in perpetrator group structures became evident. These patterns are presented here.
Groups differ in size and orientation. There are local, regional, national, and international groups. Some groups have branches in different locations or are well connected with other groups elsewhere. Each of these groups is closely linked to other networks of organized crime. In most cases, they operate in a strictly hierarchical manner.
Regarding their orientation, three main types of groups can be roughly distinguished. On the one hand, there are groups that justify their violence through an ideological framework. These include satanic groups, occult groups and secret societies, sects and cults associated with various religions, as well as fascist or neo-Nazi groups.
On the other hand, there are criminal networks involved in pedophilia, child trafficking, child pornography, and violent, criminal sex buyer networks that exploit both children and adults. In these cases, it is not about ideology but rather about power and sadism. Not all cases revolve around sexual exploitation—sometimes, the sole purpose is to inflict pain and torture. Survivors repeatedly describe auctions, competitions, and human hunting as part of their experiences. These groups can operate on a smaller regional level or on a larger international scale.
A third group is described by some survivors who report experiencing Mind Control as part of state-funded intelligence projects or having been subjected to medical experiments. It is possible that some groups combine multiple elements from the mentioned “categories” or “ideologies” within their structure.
Susanne’s example:
Susanne grew up in a family that had been involved in Satanism for generations. They regularly met up in secret with members of the group to celebrate rituals and worship Satan. Typical aspects of such rituals include sexual orgies in which women and children are raped. Susanne wasn’t just abused there but was also passed around to other groups that “required” young children for their own rituals. Since a dissociative identity was programmed into her from birth and she was characterised by the violence inflicted upon her, her group could earn lots of money through her. She was regularly sold to paedophiles who abused her. The violence perpetrated against her was filmed by her own group. This produced material that could be sold online as child pornography and used to blackmail clients. Susanne was sometimes taken to large private parties where children would have to obey the guests’ demands. Some of the other children didn’t survive the parties.
It’s important to understand that ritual abuse and organised abuse are closely interrelated. Many children found in violent child pornography material or abused in paedophile circles come from families that have been part of ideological groups for generations. Children who grow up in this environment are not just victims of abuse but are also often turned into “perpetrators” to reinforce their connection to the group. Adult victims remain part of the ritual and network structures, are involved in the group’s activities and work in a concealed area of forced prostitution.
Two perpetrator groups usually exist for victims: Groups in which they are raised and client groups. There are customer groups worldwide with a sadist interest in abusing, torturing and killing children. These customers are prepared to pay lots of money for this.
For me, taking a holiday with my parents meant leaving me alone on a yacht with lots of men.
The perpetrators built a framework of serious fear of punishment and the outside world. I was often confined to a small coffin for several nights and was buried alive in the coffin for several hours. Close contact with the outside world was forbidden and enforced with threats of punishment. My family presented itself as a model upper-class family.
Satanist ritual abuse doesn’t involve teenagers dressing up in black, lighting candles in their basements and listening to songs about the devil. Satanist cults have members in influential areas of society – highly organised and networked. This is how they get away with torture, human sacrifice and human trafficking.
These perpetrator structures are found both in Germany and around the world. A 2007 study surveyed 1,400 people who had been affected by extreme violence. Those surveyed came from all continents of the world. Their responses overlapped greatly in terms of belonging to groups and the nature of violence experienced.
We also experience this in our work: we support women who have left the scene from very different parts of Germany and also from abroad. They are of different ages, some are already far along in their exit process, others are still at the beginning. Some have not yet been in therapy. Their experiences and their offender backgrounds are always similar, so that patterns can be recognized. We try to describe them here on the website.
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