Background and psychological impact of organised and ritual child sexual abuse: Reports to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in Germany

Objective Organised child sexual abuse is characterised by commercial exploitation of children and adolescents by networking perpetrator groups. Ritual abuse is further characterised by ideological frameworks (e.g., cults). Methods Forty-one confidential hearings and written reports, gathered by the German Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse from individuals as well as contemporary witnesses subjected to organised and ritual abuse (ORA) were analysed by means of a quantitative content analysis. Results Right-wing extremist, Satanist and religious ideologies were most frequently described. The perpetrators were, next to unknown offenders, mostly described as fathers, and in half of the reports, besides also mothers of the victims. Dissociative identity disorders resulting from such traumatic violence present a challenge to psychosocial and psychiatric professionals. Discussion It is necessary to educate professionals in psychosocial care settings about ORA and the psychological consequences of extreme violence.