Child survivors

There are occasions that adult survivors talk about, when, if only the people they met had had awareness, it might have been possible for safe adults to notice them as children and perhaps have found a way to help. Although it is difficult for children to tell about abuse, children can easily slip up and reveal a little of their lives. Adults having a raised awareness of the possibilities of what might happen to a child and keeping an open mind, might just spot some of these children. Adults who take the time to build a strong relationship with a child stand a better chance of gaining the child’s trust.

Children and young people living with ritual abuse do not have many of the choices that most adults have. They do not have access to information except through adults. As they have no money, or access to money, except through adults, even making a telephone call to get help can be impossible. Few young people would even know who they could phone for help.

Children are totally dependant on the adults in their lives for all of their basic human needs. They usually love their parents, even if those parents are hurting and abusing them. They have, and are taught to have, great loyalty to their families. They also know beyond any doubt, and it will have been proven to them, what will happen to them if they betray their family by talking to outsiders. Unlike some abuse situations, in which the abuser threatens the child, children living with ritual abuse know that threats are very real and will be carried out.

Children are not as good as adults at covering up and the younger they are, the more likely it is that adults with awareness can notice them. The main problem at the moment is that safe adults completely fail to notice the signs that are there. In fairness to these adults, if ritual abuse is not considered a reality in our society, then no one can ever notice these children.

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