Showing posts with label ritual. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ritual. Show all posts
Monday, December 19, 2016
Child abuse: Documenting Australia's shame, The Impact of Child Abuse Can Last a Lifetime
Child abuse: Documenting Australia's shame
By Phil Mercer BBC News, Sydney December 19, 2016
In Australia, a boy of 10 is raped by an Anglican clergyman, who cuts his victim with a small knife and smears blood over his back in a twisted ritual to symbolise the suffering of Christ.
This happened in the 1960s in Cessnock, a former mining town in the New South Wales Hunter Valley, but only now has this and other decades-old stories of sexual violence and degradation been heard, catalogued and, crucially for many victims, believed.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is an unprecedented investigation into an epidemic of depravity across Australia.
The far-reaching inquiry began in 2013 and has heard from thousands of survivors of paedophiles who worked, or volunteered, in sporting clubs, schools, churches, charities, childcare centres and the military....
For four days earlier this year, the senior Vatican official was quizzed, denying any personal wrongdoing but conceding the organisation had made grave errors.
"I am not here to defend the indefensible," said Cardinal Pell. "The Church has made enormous mistakes, is working to remedy those, but the Church has in many places - certainly in Australia - mucked things up."
When he was 13, John Ellis, a former altar boy, was molested by an Australian monk who was also implicated in a suspected paedophile ring at a former Catholic boarding school in the Scottish Highlands....
"The most important thing for people in being invited to give their own stories and having their stories valued is that somebody cares," Mr Ellis told the BBC news website.
"For many, many years people have been silenced, people have been fearful of what reaction they will get if they were to tell their truth. The overwhelming emotion people have when they have had that opportunity is empowerment."
When it hands down its final report at the end of 2017, this painstaking inquiry will have lasted for almost five years. Already, more than 1,700 cases have been referred to the authorities, including the police....
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-38301488
The Impact of Child Abuse Can Last a Lifetime
Dec. 19, 2016 By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Dec. 19, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- The traumatic effects of child abuse and neglect can persist for decades, often with substantial economic consequences, researchers report.
"We found associations of child neglect and abuse with adult socioeconomic circumstances at age 50," said lead author Snehal Pinto Pereira.
Physical, social or emotional abuse in childhood was linked at midlife to a greater risk of time off from work due to long-term sickness, said Pereira, a research associate at University College London's Institute of Child Health.
Mistreatment in childhood also lowered the odds of owning a home, she said.
"The associations for child neglect were linked to their poor reading and mathematics skills in adolescence, which in turn could hamper their ability to find work and progress in the job market," she explained.
The research is only observational and doesn't establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship. Still, it appears that children who suffered more than one type of abuse were most likely to be thwarted economically....
The study was published online Dec. 19 in the journal Pediatrics.
Child abuse and neglect are major public health problems in the United States, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In 2014, around 700,000 American kids suffered from abuse or neglect. More than 1,500 died from it, the CDC said.
Toddlers younger than 3 account for more than one-quarter of victims, the agency said.
One study estimated that 1 in 4 children experiences some form of child abuse or neglect in their lifetime, according to the CDC....
http://health.usnews.com/health-care/articles/2016-12-19/the-impact-of-child-abuse-can-last-a-lifetime
Child Abuse Research https://ritualabuse.us
Articles and Research by Neil Brick http://neilbrick.com
Saturday, June 4, 2016
'Holy Hell': How One Man Documented 22 Years Inside a Sadistic Cult
'Holy Hell': How One Man Documented 22 Years Inside a Sadistic Cult
Former cult member's documentary details over two decades of mind games and torture inside an L.A. cult
By Jason Newman May 27, 2016
He was grooming me. I didn't see it then, but it's so obvious now. I wanted a mentor; a teacher. When I got around him more, that's when I was like, 'Oh my God, he's an asshole.'" For 22 years, Will Allen immersed himself 24/7 in Buddhafield, a Los Angeles cult with hundreds of members and a narcissistic, sociopathic leader named Michel Rostand. The group would live, work and meditate together, banishing all ties to their family in the hope of finding greater enlightenment. Their spiritual guru would, in turn, psychologically torture and brainwash his disciples on a daily basis....
His insider document of two decades of life inside the cult, entitled Holy Hell, combines home movies and official footage from these years alongside new interviews with former members detailing the sadistic, predatory nature that lay behind their leader's ostensibly gentle, omnipotent façade. Buddhafield's service-oriented, off-the-grid approach to attaining peace and harmony — "It was our little utopia in the middle of this big giant city," says one former member in the film — disguised its leader's iniquities, ranging from total mind control and forced abortions to alleged widespread sexual abuse and rape. The carrot dangled to all adherents was "The Knowing," a ritual in which Rostand would "transfer his energy" to the participant so they would truly know God.
The resulting doc, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last January, acts as both an extreme cautionary tale and a personal exorcism. In 2012, five years after leaving the cult, Allen, like many former Buddhafield members, was still suffering from PTSD and trying to move on....
It's easy to see how Buddhafield members got initially sucked in by Rostand's charisma; even the ones who now hate him describe him at first glance as "ethereal," "magical," "otherworldly" and "beautiful." "I was floating walking home," admits Vera Chieffo, who left the cult in 2009 after 27 years. "But he was also friggin' weird." The man known mainly as "The Teacher" would parade around the compound in speedos and Ray-Bans, demanding his disciples to be in peak physical and mental health through rigorous exercise, meditation and abstinence from sex, alcohol, drugs, caffeine and red meat.
But while he was outwardly preaching asceticism, Rostand would prey on young men like Allen, "promoting" the filmmaker to be his personal driver and masseuse before allegedly sexually abusing him and other members on multiple occasions. "Some of them are still figuring it out that it was rape because it didn't seem like that," Phillipe Coquet, who spent 24 years with Buddhafield, says. (Rostand has not been charged or arrested in connection with the abuses.) Members would often receive mixed messages, with their leader often noting, for example, the joys of sex before immediately rebuking it as "simple" and unhealthy....
http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/holy-hell-how-one-man-documented-22-years-inside-a-sadistic-cult-20160527
Former cult member's documentary details over two decades of mind games and torture inside an L.A. cult
By Jason Newman May 27, 2016
He was grooming me. I didn't see it then, but it's so obvious now. I wanted a mentor; a teacher. When I got around him more, that's when I was like, 'Oh my God, he's an asshole.'" For 22 years, Will Allen immersed himself 24/7 in Buddhafield, a Los Angeles cult with hundreds of members and a narcissistic, sociopathic leader named Michel Rostand. The group would live, work and meditate together, banishing all ties to their family in the hope of finding greater enlightenment. Their spiritual guru would, in turn, psychologically torture and brainwash his disciples on a daily basis....
His insider document of two decades of life inside the cult, entitled Holy Hell, combines home movies and official footage from these years alongside new interviews with former members detailing the sadistic, predatory nature that lay behind their leader's ostensibly gentle, omnipotent façade. Buddhafield's service-oriented, off-the-grid approach to attaining peace and harmony — "It was our little utopia in the middle of this big giant city," says one former member in the film — disguised its leader's iniquities, ranging from total mind control and forced abortions to alleged widespread sexual abuse and rape. The carrot dangled to all adherents was "The Knowing," a ritual in which Rostand would "transfer his energy" to the participant so they would truly know God.
The resulting doc, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last January, acts as both an extreme cautionary tale and a personal exorcism. In 2012, five years after leaving the cult, Allen, like many former Buddhafield members, was still suffering from PTSD and trying to move on....
It's easy to see how Buddhafield members got initially sucked in by Rostand's charisma; even the ones who now hate him describe him at first glance as "ethereal," "magical," "otherworldly" and "beautiful." "I was floating walking home," admits Vera Chieffo, who left the cult in 2009 after 27 years. "But he was also friggin' weird." The man known mainly as "The Teacher" would parade around the compound in speedos and Ray-Bans, demanding his disciples to be in peak physical and mental health through rigorous exercise, meditation and abstinence from sex, alcohol, drugs, caffeine and red meat.
But while he was outwardly preaching asceticism, Rostand would prey on young men like Allen, "promoting" the filmmaker to be his personal driver and masseuse before allegedly sexually abusing him and other members on multiple occasions. "Some of them are still figuring it out that it was rape because it didn't seem like that," Phillipe Coquet, who spent 24 years with Buddhafield, says. (Rostand has not been charged or arrested in connection with the abuses.) Members would often receive mixed messages, with their leader often noting, for example, the joys of sex before immediately rebuking it as "simple" and unhealthy....
http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/holy-hell-how-one-man-documented-22-years-inside-a-sadistic-cult-20160527
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Vic Christian Brother sexual abuse of 20 boys, Canberra rape crisis centre and victims of ritual abuse, Trial set - ritual slaying
Vic Christian Brother gets more jail time
September 18, 2015
A former Christian Brother labelled "satanic" for his sexual abuse of 20 boys will spend more time behind bars after a Victorian court increased his sentence.
Edward "Ted" Bales was handed a six-year jail term in March after he pleaded guilty to 34 child sex abuse offences which occurred in the 1970s and 1980s.
Prosecutors appealed, saying one of Bales' most heinous crimes against an 11-year-old boy warranted more jail time and his three-year non-parole period should be increased. The Court of Appeal on Friday agreed, upping Bales' jail sentence to eight years and five months. The non-parole period was increased to five years and eight months.
The breach of trust involved a betrayal of the responsibilities of (Bales) both as a teacher of the victim and as a member of the Christian Brothers order," the appeal judgment says.
Bales used his authority to prey on other victims, aged between eight and 14, at school....Bales, formerly known as Edward Vernon Dowlan, changed his name to avoid being associated with other convicted pedophiles he taught alongside at the St Alipius school in Ballarat. The 65-year-old was also jailed for historical child sex offences in the 1990s.
http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/09/18/09/28/more-jail-time-for-vic-christian-brother
Community Hero: Jen Yates
In every monthly issue of the Star Observer, we take a look at a champion of the LGBTI community. This month, Benedict Brook spoke to a Canberra psychologist whose work with trans* people has bolstered self-esteem, reunited families and even saved lives.
Benedict Brook — September 22, 2015
IN Jen Yates’ home office in Canberra, a frame proudly displays the leaving card she received when she departed her role as a psychologist at A Gender Agenda (AGA), a pioneering support group in the ACT for the sex and gender diverse community....
“I’ve worked with Indigenous communities, people with disabilities, survivors of sexual abuse but the trans* community is the most marginalised and isolated community I have ever worked with.”....
After her own children were born, in between nappy changes and school runs, she found time to set up family refuges and work with the Canberra rape crisis centre and victims of childhood and ritual abuse.
“When people are suffering, whether it’s because of particular traits or experiences they have, any of us could be in their shoes and I just wanted to do useful things and be supportive,” Yates says....
http://www.starobserver.com.au/features/community/community-hero-jen-yates/141215
Trial set for man accused of killing daughter with blade
Tuesday, September 22, 2015 Associated Press
GADSDEN, Ala. (AP) — A trial date has been set for an Alabama man accused of killing his toddler with a sword or knife in what relatives have called a ritual slaying.
Stephon Lindsay is charged with capital murder in the death of his 1-year-old daughter, Maliyah Lindsay....Family members said the girl was killed as part of a ritual. A judge has imposed a gag order in the case.
http://www.nonpareilonline.com/news/national/wire/trial-set-for-man-accused-of-killing-daughter-with-blade/article_7116a84b-b19a-5583-995a-616838682a0e.html
September 18, 2015
A former Christian Brother labelled "satanic" for his sexual abuse of 20 boys will spend more time behind bars after a Victorian court increased his sentence.
Edward "Ted" Bales was handed a six-year jail term in March after he pleaded guilty to 34 child sex abuse offences which occurred in the 1970s and 1980s.
Prosecutors appealed, saying one of Bales' most heinous crimes against an 11-year-old boy warranted more jail time and his three-year non-parole period should be increased. The Court of Appeal on Friday agreed, upping Bales' jail sentence to eight years and five months. The non-parole period was increased to five years and eight months.
The breach of trust involved a betrayal of the responsibilities of (Bales) both as a teacher of the victim and as a member of the Christian Brothers order," the appeal judgment says.
Bales used his authority to prey on other victims, aged between eight and 14, at school....Bales, formerly known as Edward Vernon Dowlan, changed his name to avoid being associated with other convicted pedophiles he taught alongside at the St Alipius school in Ballarat. The 65-year-old was also jailed for historical child sex offences in the 1990s.
http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/09/18/09/28/more-jail-time-for-vic-christian-brother
Community Hero: Jen Yates
In every monthly issue of the Star Observer, we take a look at a champion of the LGBTI community. This month, Benedict Brook spoke to a Canberra psychologist whose work with trans* people has bolstered self-esteem, reunited families and even saved lives.
Benedict Brook — September 22, 2015
IN Jen Yates’ home office in Canberra, a frame proudly displays the leaving card she received when she departed her role as a psychologist at A Gender Agenda (AGA), a pioneering support group in the ACT for the sex and gender diverse community....
“I’ve worked with Indigenous communities, people with disabilities, survivors of sexual abuse but the trans* community is the most marginalised and isolated community I have ever worked with.”....
After her own children were born, in between nappy changes and school runs, she found time to set up family refuges and work with the Canberra rape crisis centre and victims of childhood and ritual abuse.
“When people are suffering, whether it’s because of particular traits or experiences they have, any of us could be in their shoes and I just wanted to do useful things and be supportive,” Yates says....
http://www.starobserver.com.au/features/community/community-hero-jen-yates/141215
Trial set for man accused of killing daughter with blade
Tuesday, September 22, 2015 Associated Press
GADSDEN, Ala. (AP) — A trial date has been set for an Alabama man accused of killing his toddler with a sword or knife in what relatives have called a ritual slaying.
Stephon Lindsay is charged with capital murder in the death of his 1-year-old daughter, Maliyah Lindsay....Family members said the girl was killed as part of a ritual. A judge has imposed a gag order in the case.
http://www.nonpareilonline.com/news/national/wire/trial-set-for-man-accused-of-killing-daughter-with-blade/article_7116a84b-b19a-5583-995a-616838682a0e.html
Monday, March 30, 2015
Police ‘covered up child sex abuse by actors and priests’, Documentary reveals how Scientology ‘controls’ John Travolta and Tom Cruise, Alfio Granata: Ice addiction
Police ‘covered up child sex abuse by actors and priests’, Documentary reveals how Scientology ‘controls’ John Travolta and Tom Cruise, Alfio Granata: Ice addiction
- Police ‘covered up child sex abuse by actors and priests’
- Documentary reveals how Scientology ‘controls’ John Travolta and Tom Cruise
- Alfio Granata: Ice addiction led man to rape and beat Dutch tourist, court told
Police ‘covered up child sex abuse by actors and priests’
John Simpson March 29 2015
Actors, priests, judges and entertainers have been implicated in the latest allegations that Scotland Yard covered up establishment child sex abuse, the police watchdog has confirmed.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has begun three more investigations into claims of corruption in the Metropolitan Police’s investigations into alleged paedophile rings involving prominent figures spanning 35 years.
The new investigations mean that there are now 17 inquiries into allegations that senior officers “hindered or halted” investigations and surveillance operations, suppressed evidence and ordered detectives to limit their inquiries when police officers, politicians or famous people were implicated.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/crime/article4395594.ece
susbcription needed
Documentary reveals how Scientology ‘controls’ John Travolta and Tom Cruise
March 31, 2015
Scientology exposed ... HBO documentary Going Clear delivers some explosive details about
HEAVILY lawyered US network HBO aired its highly anticipated Scientology documentary overnight, and with it some startling allegations about the organisation and its two most famous members.
Directed by Academy Award winner Alex Gibney, the film, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, is based on a book-length expose by Lawrence Wright and shares the stories of those who escaped the religion, including high-ranking officials.
Detailing claims of psychological and physical abuse, former members share horrific and fascinating accounts of their time in the church — particularly about how its leader, David Miscavige, relies on stars like Tom Cruise and John Travolta to recruit and raise money, and how he keeps them on board.
The Church of Scientology is worth billions but, as it operates as a non-profit religious organisation, is exempt from taxation.
In the film, Wright says there are two ways the fast-growing organisation could be stopped; the first is a financial crackdown by the IRS, and the second is a high-profile backlash, which is even less likely....
According to the MailOnline’s review, the film claims Scientologists hold a “blackmail file” on Cruise and fellow Scientologist John Travolta, to stop them leaving the faith....
The claims have been disputed by the church, with Gibney outlining in the film their insistence that Scientology has no control over Cruise....
The organisation claims Gibney and Wright, and the network, intentionally covered up facts, and labelled the director a “propaganda filmmaker with an agenda”....
http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/movies/documentary-reveals-how-scientology-controls-john-travolta-and-tom-cruise/story-e6frfmvr-1227285768504
Alfio Granata: Ice addiction led man to rape and beat Dutch tourist, court told 30 March 2015
A man's ice addiction led him to violently rape and beat a Dutch tourist he had taken hostage during a six-week ordeal at a Melbourne hotel, a court hears.
Alfio Granata has pleaded guilty to 14 charges over the incident at a Preston Hotel.
A man's ice addiction led him to violently rape and beat a Dutch tourist he had taken hostage during a six-week ordeal at a Melbourne hotel, a court has been told.
Alfio Granata, 47, has pleaded guilty to 14 charges, including multiple rapes, threats to kill, and intentionally causing serious injury.
The victim was left with 54 separate injuries after she was repeatedly beaten unconscious, violently raped and cut with a knife....
Prosecutor Nanette Rogers said Granata claimed he was possessed by the devil and the spirit of his dead grandfather.
Dr Rogers told the court on one occasion Granata put the victim's nail cuttings, hair and blood in an envelope as part of a supposed ritual to destroy her soul....
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2015-03-30/alfio-granata-ice-addiction-led-man-to-rape-and-beat-dutch-tourist-court-told/1431342
- Police ‘covered up child sex abuse by actors and priests’
- Documentary reveals how Scientology ‘controls’ John Travolta and Tom Cruise
- Alfio Granata: Ice addiction led man to rape and beat Dutch tourist, court told
Police ‘covered up child sex abuse by actors and priests’
John Simpson March 29 2015
Actors, priests, judges and entertainers have been implicated in the latest allegations that Scotland Yard covered up establishment child sex abuse, the police watchdog has confirmed.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has begun three more investigations into claims of corruption in the Metropolitan Police’s investigations into alleged paedophile rings involving prominent figures spanning 35 years.
The new investigations mean that there are now 17 inquiries into allegations that senior officers “hindered or halted” investigations and surveillance operations, suppressed evidence and ordered detectives to limit their inquiries when police officers, politicians or famous people were implicated.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/crime/article4395594.ece
susbcription needed
Documentary reveals how Scientology ‘controls’ John Travolta and Tom Cruise
March 31, 2015
Scientology exposed ... HBO documentary Going Clear delivers some explosive details about
HEAVILY lawyered US network HBO aired its highly anticipated Scientology documentary overnight, and with it some startling allegations about the organisation and its two most famous members.
Directed by Academy Award winner Alex Gibney, the film, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, is based on a book-length expose by Lawrence Wright and shares the stories of those who escaped the religion, including high-ranking officials.
Detailing claims of psychological and physical abuse, former members share horrific and fascinating accounts of their time in the church — particularly about how its leader, David Miscavige, relies on stars like Tom Cruise and John Travolta to recruit and raise money, and how he keeps them on board.
The Church of Scientology is worth billions but, as it operates as a non-profit religious organisation, is exempt from taxation.
In the film, Wright says there are two ways the fast-growing organisation could be stopped; the first is a financial crackdown by the IRS, and the second is a high-profile backlash, which is even less likely....
According to the MailOnline’s review, the film claims Scientologists hold a “blackmail file” on Cruise and fellow Scientologist John Travolta, to stop them leaving the faith....
The claims have been disputed by the church, with Gibney outlining in the film their insistence that Scientology has no control over Cruise....
The organisation claims Gibney and Wright, and the network, intentionally covered up facts, and labelled the director a “propaganda filmmaker with an agenda”....
http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/movies/documentary-reveals-how-scientology-controls-john-travolta-and-tom-cruise/story-e6frfmvr-1227285768504
Alfio Granata: Ice addiction led man to rape and beat Dutch tourist, court told 30 March 2015
A man's ice addiction led him to violently rape and beat a Dutch tourist he had taken hostage during a six-week ordeal at a Melbourne hotel, a court hears.
Alfio Granata has pleaded guilty to 14 charges over the incident at a Preston Hotel.
A man's ice addiction led him to violently rape and beat a Dutch tourist he had taken hostage during a six-week ordeal at a Melbourne hotel, a court has been told.
Alfio Granata, 47, has pleaded guilty to 14 charges, including multiple rapes, threats to kill, and intentionally causing serious injury.
The victim was left with 54 separate injuries after she was repeatedly beaten unconscious, violently raped and cut with a knife....
Prosecutor Nanette Rogers said Granata claimed he was possessed by the devil and the spirit of his dead grandfather.
Dr Rogers told the court on one occasion Granata put the victim's nail cuttings, hair and blood in an envelope as part of a supposed ritual to destroy her soul....
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2015-03-30/alfio-granata-ice-addiction-led-man-to-rape-and-beat-dutch-tourist-court-told/1431342
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Child abuse royal commission: Victim recounts being raped during ritual at Satyananda Yoga Ashram
- Child abuse royal commission: victim recounts being raped during ritual at Satyananda Yoga Ashram
- Child abuse royal commission: Mindset of NSW yoga retreat 'as dangerous as ever', witness tells hearing
- Child abuse royal commission: Yoga leader told children sex acts would aid 'spiritual growth'
"At the ashram, family relationships were broken down and parents separated from their children, who were routinely beaten, sexually abused and deprived of adequate medical treatment and food."
Child abuse royal commission: victim recounts being raped during ritual at Satyananda Yoga Ashram
By Claire Aird December 4, 2014
A young girl was raped by the head of a global yoga movement, Satyananda Sawaswati, on his visit to a New South Wales ashram, an inquiry has heard.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse hearing into the Satyananda Yoga Ashram at Mangrove Mountain on the state's central coast was also told a group of swamis abused the girl in a ritual setting.
The girl, known as APR in the hearing, moved to the ashram with her mother, father and sister in the late 1970s.
The abuse started when she was three years old.
"The ashram was the kind of place that if you scream, no-one comes," she said.
At the ashram, family relationships were broken down and parents separated from their children, who were routinely beaten, sexually abused and deprived of adequate medical treatment and food.
Attendees were referred to as "Innamtes" by the head of the movement, handed their assets to the ashram, shaved their heads, and wore orange robes.
"I feel the entire ashram was groomed into a place of powerlessness," APR said....
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-04/victim-recounts-being-raped-during-ritual-at-satyananda-ashram/5945010
Child abuse royal commission: Mindset of NSW yoga retreat 'as dangerous as ever', witness tells hearing
By Nicole Chettle December 3, 2014
A former resident of Australia's oldest yoga ashram has received applause after delivering a passionate call for justice at the child sexual abuse royal commission in Sydney.
The commission has been looking at the handling of 11 complaints made against former spiritual leader Swami Akhandananda Saraswati over the past 40 years, relating to abuse that happened in the 1970s and '80s.
The issue came to a head around Easter this year when the Satyananda Yoga Ashram in New South Wales sent an email to former members detailing a "healing ceremony" that formed part of its 40th anniversary commemorations.
One woman known as APK, who, along with her sister, endured years of physical and sexual abuse....
Akhandananda was convicted on charges of indecency and jailed in 1989, but his conviction was overturned in 1991. He died in 1997....
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-03/child-abuse-royal-commission-nsw-yoga-retreat/5938936
Child abuse royal commission: Yoga leader told children sex acts would aid 'spiritual growth'
By Brad Ryan, Nicole Chettle and Emily Bourke December 2, 2014
The spiritual leader of a New South Wales yoga retreat sexually abused child residents after summoning them to a hut and asking them for a massage, an inquiry has heard.
Children were also allegedly directed to travel around Australia with the man, known as Swami Akhandananda Saraswati, and perform sexual acts in his bed.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has opened its 21st case study, focused on the the Satyananda Yoga Ashram at Mangrove Mountain in the hinterland of the New South Wales central coast.
The commission is examining allegations from the 1970s and 1980s involving the ashram's former leader, Akhandananda, who was jailed for sex offences in the late 1980s but had his conviction overturned before his death in 1997.
Counsel assisting the commission, Peggy Dwyer, said nine alleged victims would give evidence of sexual and physical abuse, and statements would be tendered by another two.
"I expect that the royal commission will hear evidence that this sexual abuse often occurred in the hut that Akhandananda shared with [fellow swami] Shishy," Ms Dwyer told the Sydney hearing....
Akhandananda was jailed in 1989 for sexually abusing four teenage girls whilst they were residing at the ashram, including Ms Buchanan.
She said she felt "victimised all over again" when Akhandananda's conviction was overturned on appeal and he was released after serving 14 months in prison....
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-02/yoga-leader-told-children-sex-acts-would-aid-spiritual-growth/5931610
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Harwood believed Theologo satanic sacrifice part of God's plan: psychologist
Harwood believed Theologo satanic sacrifice part of God's plan: psychologist Sapa 24 October, 2013
One of the men implicated in the death of Kirsty Theologo after an alleged Satanic ritual found God through the incident, the High Court in Johannesburg sitting in Palm Ridge heard.
Clinical psychologist Suzette Heath said Robin Harwood seemed to believe his role in Theologo's killing was all part of God's plan.
Theologo, 18, was doused with petrol and set alight on a hill in Linmeyer in October 2011 as part of a "soul-selling" ritual.
She died in hospital a week later, while her friend, who was 14-years-old at the time, survived the attack.
"The whole thing went wrong so he [Harwood] believes this is how God led him to meet with Him [God]," said Heath....
http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2013/10/24/harwood-believed-theologo-satanic-sacrifice-part-of-god-s-plan-psychologist
One of the men implicated in the death of Kirsty Theologo after an alleged Satanic ritual found God through the incident, the High Court in Johannesburg sitting in Palm Ridge heard.
Clinical psychologist Suzette Heath said Robin Harwood seemed to believe his role in Theologo's killing was all part of God's plan.
Theologo, 18, was doused with petrol and set alight on a hill in Linmeyer in October 2011 as part of a "soul-selling" ritual.
She died in hospital a week later, while her friend, who was 14-years-old at the time, survived the attack.
"The whole thing went wrong so he [Harwood] believes this is how God led him to meet with Him [God]," said Heath....
http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2013/10/24/harwood-believed-theologo-satanic-sacrifice-part-of-god-s-plan-psychologist
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Role of Ritual in the Organised Abuse of Children, Lawyer alleges church cover-up as late as 2005
The Role of Ritual in the Organised Abuse of Children
Michael Salter 13 NOV 2012 Child Abuse Review Vol. 21 Issue 5
DOI: 10.1002/car.2215
Over the last 30 years, allegations of ritual child sexual abuse have emerged from child protection cases and legal proceedings and from adults and children in psychotherapy. These allegations have been met with disbelief from many practitioners and academics. Children and adults disclosing ritual abuse continue to present in a range of circumstances and recent substantiations of ritual abuse allegations call for a grounded analysis of their claims. This paper is based on qualitative interviews with 16 adults who described experiencing ritual abuse in childhood. They described the ways in which sexually abusive groups generated shared rationales of religious or mythological justifications for organised abuse. Participants were forced to internalise these rationales in degrading and dehumanising ordeals, whereupon they became active in facilitating their own abuse and/or the abuse of others. Ritual abuse can therefore be conceptualised as a device or strategy that enjoins the participation of victims in organised abuse whilst simultaneously accomplishing exculpation for perpetrators.
"The evidence base for ritual abuse is complex, including successful convictions in child sex prosecutions where ritual abuse was alleged, and a range of studies documenting long-term and serious psychological harm amongst children and adults disclosing organised and ritual abuse (for a summary, see Noblitt and Perskin, 2000, chapter 6). In recent years, ritual abuse has been substantiated in criminal investigations in North America (for newspaper reports, see Gyan, 2010; Lemoine, 2008a, 2008b), the UK and Europe (de Bruxelles, 2011; Kelly, 1998), and it has been documented in African and European child trafficking networks (International Organization of Migration, 2001). A recent resurgence in publications on ritual abuse highlights that adults and children are continuing to disclose ritual abuse in a variety of settings (Epstein et al., 2011; Noblitt and Perskin-Noblitt, 2008; Sachs and Galton, 2008; Sarson and MacDonald, 2008)."
"Conclusion
This analysis of survivors’ accounts of ritual abuse has shown how rituals serve as legitimising practices within organised abuse. In participants’ accounts, abusive groups utilised ritual practices to generate a private discourse about the righteous domination of abusive men over women and children, a discourse often marked with references to the ‘natural’ or ‘supernatural’ order. In this context, ritualistic practices were not simply a deviant form of religious activity, but rather they served to imbue organised abuse with metaphysical or religious overtones, thereby recasting sexual abuse as a masculine right, even a duty, rather than as a practice of control and power. The internal and private discourses of abusive groups, with their copious mentions of Satan, magical powers and eternal damnation, may appear jarringly naive and even garish to those unfamiliar with the abusive contexts in which they have arisen. However, for victims of ritual abuse, they invoke a metaphysical order in which they are required to submit to further abuse and torture. Within traumatic rituals in which they were forced into contact with a range of taboo substances, participants’ views of themselves ultimately came to accord with the view of their abusers. In accordance with the mythos of the abusive group, they came to view themselves as polluted and contaminated vessels whose lot was to endure ongoing abuse and violence at the hands of men who claimed a natural or supernatural mandate to do so."
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/car.2215/abstract
Lawyer alleges church cover-up as late as 2005
By Suzanne Smith Wed Nov 14, 2012
The senior lawyer who reviewed the Catholic Church's Towards Healing protocols says the church was still covering up sexual abuse as late as 2005.
Professor Patrick Parkinson was cited by Cardinal George Pell as the man who had reviewed the church's protocols on two occasions and had given them his tick of approval.
But Professor Parkinson has told Lateline he has withdrawn his support for the protocol because the church failed to take action over clergy who do not comply.
He alleges a church cover-up as late as 2005 put children at risk.
And he says the church behaviour alleged by New South Wales Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox and Victorian police amounts to "organised criminality".
Responding to the announcement of a royal commission into institutionalised child sexual abuse, Cardinal Pell drew on the authority of Professor Parkinson.
"We follow the Towards Healing procedures here in Sydney. They were set in place in early 1997. They have been twice reviewed by Professor Parkinson, one of the leading authorities in the area," Cardinal Pell said.
"Since 1997 one of the significant protocols that's in place is, [it's] completely prohibited to shift priests who have been charged, to shift them around.
"If and where that has been done, that is against the protocols."
Professor Parkinson was involved in regularly reviewing the Towards Healing protocol up until 2009.
He says he no longer supports the document, or the church body that it established to investigate any failures.
"My disagreement with the Catholic Church has been that I have challenged them over failures to comply with the letter and spirit of the protocols," he said.
"As a matter of integrity I could no longer support the National Committee of Professional Standards while there was a gap between their rhetoric and their actions."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/4372512
Michael Salter 13 NOV 2012 Child Abuse Review Vol. 21 Issue 5
DOI: 10.1002/car.2215
Over the last 30 years, allegations of ritual child sexual abuse have emerged from child protection cases and legal proceedings and from adults and children in psychotherapy. These allegations have been met with disbelief from many practitioners and academics. Children and adults disclosing ritual abuse continue to present in a range of circumstances and recent substantiations of ritual abuse allegations call for a grounded analysis of their claims. This paper is based on qualitative interviews with 16 adults who described experiencing ritual abuse in childhood. They described the ways in which sexually abusive groups generated shared rationales of religious or mythological justifications for organised abuse. Participants were forced to internalise these rationales in degrading and dehumanising ordeals, whereupon they became active in facilitating their own abuse and/or the abuse of others. Ritual abuse can therefore be conceptualised as a device or strategy that enjoins the participation of victims in organised abuse whilst simultaneously accomplishing exculpation for perpetrators.
"The evidence base for ritual abuse is complex, including successful convictions in child sex prosecutions where ritual abuse was alleged, and a range of studies documenting long-term and serious psychological harm amongst children and adults disclosing organised and ritual abuse (for a summary, see Noblitt and Perskin, 2000, chapter 6). In recent years, ritual abuse has been substantiated in criminal investigations in North America (for newspaper reports, see Gyan, 2010; Lemoine, 2008a, 2008b), the UK and Europe (de Bruxelles, 2011; Kelly, 1998), and it has been documented in African and European child trafficking networks (International Organization of Migration, 2001). A recent resurgence in publications on ritual abuse highlights that adults and children are continuing to disclose ritual abuse in a variety of settings (Epstein et al., 2011; Noblitt and Perskin-Noblitt, 2008; Sachs and Galton, 2008; Sarson and MacDonald, 2008)."
"Conclusion
This analysis of survivors’ accounts of ritual abuse has shown how rituals serve as legitimising practices within organised abuse. In participants’ accounts, abusive groups utilised ritual practices to generate a private discourse about the righteous domination of abusive men over women and children, a discourse often marked with references to the ‘natural’ or ‘supernatural’ order. In this context, ritualistic practices were not simply a deviant form of religious activity, but rather they served to imbue organised abuse with metaphysical or religious overtones, thereby recasting sexual abuse as a masculine right, even a duty, rather than as a practice of control and power. The internal and private discourses of abusive groups, with their copious mentions of Satan, magical powers and eternal damnation, may appear jarringly naive and even garish to those unfamiliar with the abusive contexts in which they have arisen. However, for victims of ritual abuse, they invoke a metaphysical order in which they are required to submit to further abuse and torture. Within traumatic rituals in which they were forced into contact with a range of taboo substances, participants’ views of themselves ultimately came to accord with the view of their abusers. In accordance with the mythos of the abusive group, they came to view themselves as polluted and contaminated vessels whose lot was to endure ongoing abuse and violence at the hands of men who claimed a natural or supernatural mandate to do so."
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/car.2215/abstract
Lawyer alleges church cover-up as late as 2005
By Suzanne Smith Wed Nov 14, 2012
The senior lawyer who reviewed the Catholic Church's Towards Healing protocols says the church was still covering up sexual abuse as late as 2005.
Professor Patrick Parkinson was cited by Cardinal George Pell as the man who had reviewed the church's protocols on two occasions and had given them his tick of approval.
But Professor Parkinson has told Lateline he has withdrawn his support for the protocol because the church failed to take action over clergy who do not comply.
He alleges a church cover-up as late as 2005 put children at risk.
And he says the church behaviour alleged by New South Wales Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox and Victorian police amounts to "organised criminality".
Responding to the announcement of a royal commission into institutionalised child sexual abuse, Cardinal Pell drew on the authority of Professor Parkinson.
"We follow the Towards Healing procedures here in Sydney. They were set in place in early 1997. They have been twice reviewed by Professor Parkinson, one of the leading authorities in the area," Cardinal Pell said.
"Since 1997 one of the significant protocols that's in place is, [it's] completely prohibited to shift priests who have been charged, to shift them around.
"If and where that has been done, that is against the protocols."
Professor Parkinson was involved in regularly reviewing the Towards Healing protocol up until 2009.
He says he no longer supports the document, or the church body that it established to investigate any failures.
"My disagreement with the Catholic Church has been that I have challenged them over failures to comply with the letter and spirit of the protocols," he said.
"As a matter of integrity I could no longer support the National Committee of Professional Standards while there was a gap between their rhetoric and their actions."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/4372512
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Where child sacrifice is a business
Where child sacrifice is a business
By Chris Rogers BBC News, Kampala 11 October 2011
The villages and farming communities that surround Uganda's capital, Kampala, are gripped by fear.
Schoolchildren are closely watched by teachers and parents as they make their way home from school. In playgrounds and on the roadside are posters warning of the danger of abduction by witch doctors for the purpose of child sacrifice.
The ritual, which some believe brings wealth and good health, was almost unheard of in the country until about three years ago, but it has re-emerged, seemingly alongside a boom in the country's economy.
The mutilated bodies of children have been discovered at roadsides, the victims of an apparently growing belief in the power of human sacrifice....
The work of the police task force has been strongly criticised by the UK-based charity, Jubilee Campaign.
It says in a report that the true number of cases is in the hundreds, and claims more than 900 cases have yet to be investigated by the police because of corruption and a lack of resources.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15255357
End Child Sacrifice Report
http://www.jubileecampaign.co.uk/child-sacrifice-report
Child Sacrifice in Uganda
A report by Jubilee Campaign and Kyampisi Childcare Ministries
http://www.jubileecampaign.co.uk/documents/end-child-sacrifice-report.pdf
By Chris Rogers BBC News, Kampala 11 October 2011
The villages and farming communities that surround Uganda's capital, Kampala, are gripped by fear.
Schoolchildren are closely watched by teachers and parents as they make their way home from school. In playgrounds and on the roadside are posters warning of the danger of abduction by witch doctors for the purpose of child sacrifice.
The ritual, which some believe brings wealth and good health, was almost unheard of in the country until about three years ago, but it has re-emerged, seemingly alongside a boom in the country's economy.
The mutilated bodies of children have been discovered at roadsides, the victims of an apparently growing belief in the power of human sacrifice....
The work of the police task force has been strongly criticised by the UK-based charity, Jubilee Campaign.
It says in a report that the true number of cases is in the hundreds, and claims more than 900 cases have yet to be investigated by the police because of corruption and a lack of resources.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15255357
End Child Sacrifice Report
http://www.jubileecampaign.co.uk/child-sacrifice-report
Child Sacrifice in Uganda
A report by Jubilee Campaign and Kyampisi Childcare Ministries
http://www.jubileecampaign.co.uk/documents/end-child-sacrifice-report.pdf
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