NCJ Number
171707
Date Published
1998
Length
16 pages
Annotation
The author contends current accusations of child sexual abuse by adults who have supposedly uncovered memories of childhood molestation are analogous to the witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Abstract
Like "witches" of the past, parents and child care workers today are often convicted of the most heinous acts with only the word of their accusers offered as evidence. Recovered memories of childhood molestation are often the product of suggestion by overzealous and ill-trained psychotherapists. Because the dangers of false memory creation are endemic to psychotherapy, reform within the profession of psychotherapy is needed to end false child abuse allegations. Such reform is especially important because society almost always considers the accused guilty as charged when it comes to child molestation. Claims of recovered memory of child sexual abuse should not be accepted without critical analysis, and psychotherapists should focus more on positive aspects of life in client treatment. 38 references and 1 note