Organized sexualized and ritual violence: Results from two representative German samples

• Published in: Child abuse & neglect 2024-06, Vol.152, p.106792-106792, Article 106792
• Main Authors: Gerke, Jelena, Fegert, Jonas, Rassenhofer, Miriam, Fegert, Jörg M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Child sexual abuse; Commercial sexual exploitation; Conspiracy belief; Frequency; Organized sexualized and ritual abuse (ORA); Prevalence; Representative sample
• ISSN: 0145-2134; 1873-7757
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106792

Organized sexualized and ritual abuse (ORA), a contentious issue since the 1980s, remains a polarizing topic. Although there is much debate about the existence of this phenomenon, a differentiated perspective is lacking, and no representative study has yet addressed the frequency. This paper aims to investigate the frequency of ORA in Germany using two representative datasets. Data were collected from representative samples of the German population (N = 2522, N = 2515). Participants aged 16 to 96 years (50 and 53 % female) were recruited. They were selected by a random route procedure and asked to fill out a paper-pencil-questionnaire. The four aspects of ORA (severe sexual violence, perpetrator networks, commercial exploitation, ideology) were assessed based on the definition provided by an expert group. Additionally, in the second survey, a direct yes/no question about the experience of ORA as well as details on perpetrators and offense characteristics were surveyed. Frequency of ORA was low. The direct question on ORA was affirmed by 0.5 % (n = 13), while according to the criteria of the definition, only 0.2 % or less of individuals experienced organized sexualized abuse, and