Fact Or Fiction? Advocate Addresses Child-abuse Backlash

Fact Or Fiction?
Advocate Addresses Child-abuse Backlash
Chicago Tribune - March 24, 1996

Back in 1983, a case in Southern California stole all the headlines and captured the attention of parents and child-care providers across the country. Children at a preschool were coming forward with bizarre allegations of sexual abuse that involved satanic rituals performed by the center's employees.

The trial eventually deadlocked in a hung jury, ending the longest-running criminal trial in American history. But the case will never be forgotten by Beth Vargo and other advocates who believe children's voices need to be heard and that horrific acts of abuse actually do occur.

Vargo, co-founder and executive director of the Cary-based Believe the Children, is on a mission to talk about a form of child molestation known as ritual abuse, which may involve kids being physically exploited and forced to witness animal mutilations. She also wants to listen to those who say they were victims of ritual abuse. "We need to go back to protecting children," said Vargo, a Cary resident.

During a recent community seminar at the Northwest Action Against Rape in Arlington Heights, Vargo discussed the backlash against victims whose accounts are often doubted and debated by legal authorities and their own families.

"There is such a strong backlash in believing children and their reports of abuse, especially in cases where exotic or unusual things happen," Vargo said. "The backlash movement started because so many were coming forward, and we were on the cusp of actually taking children seriously."

Founded in 1986 by parents of children thought to be abused in day-care settings, Believe the Children focuses on educating the public about sexual and ritual exploitation of children. According to Vargo, ritual abuse is to abuse as gang rape is to rape. She said it often involves several perpetrators carrying out the abusive acts.

"For the most part, no one makes up stories about abuse," said Mary Thorpe, a nurse and volunteer coordinator for Northwest Action Against Rape. "We need to take every report very seriously. For a child to finally disclose an account to an adult and have it disbelieved is so tragic."

According to Vargo, some adult children are now remembering or dealing with painful events from their childhood and accusing their parents of abuse, an issue she said needs to be taken seriously and addressed privately. Some parents are going to the media to rebuke the charges.

"Whether the abuse allegations are true or false, the adult children's request for privacy is not being respected," she said. "Parents are putting their children on the defensive. It's not an effective way to build trust or repair a broken bond.