Ritual violence: Scientific debate under fire at the MSB colloquium

Ritual violence: Scientific debate under fire at the MSB colloquium

Berlin, Deutschland - On June 2, 2025, Prof. Dr. Andreas Mokros a lecture in front of over 200 participants at the MSB colloquium. In his presentation, he discussed the topic of "displacement, residents and ritual sexual violence". Prof. Mokros, who is responsible for personality, legal psychology and diagnostics at the FernUniversität in Hagen and leads Darth Lab, critically dealt with the current debates about ritual sexual violence and put the methods and findings of empirical psychological research to the test. He came to the conclusion that in the past few decades there were no indications of the existence of ritual sexual violence or techniques for "mind control", which could be corroborated by police investigations or scientific studies. The discussion about dealing with patient: inside who report such experiences remains particularly delicate.

In Germany there is a public debate about sexual child abuse in organized and ritual violent structures, which is currently playing heavily in mass media and open letters. The discussion mainly deals with the methodology and procedure for empirical research approaches as well as the role of scientists: inside in this context. The independent Commission reported to deal with sexual child abuse on the subject of organized and ritual violence. The perspective of those affected was examined in a research project that was funded at the Hamburg-Eppendorf University Hospital in 2017. However, previous attempts to illuminate this topic are often shaped by scandalous dynamics in the United States in the 1990s.

criticism of research and its results

The examination of ritual violence is also shaped by a critical attitude within the professional world. In March 2023, the DGPS specialist group published a statement that sharply criticized an ongoing research project on ritual violence. The criticisms included:

• Inadequate documentation of ritual violence by law enforcement authorities.
• unplausibility of affairs for violence before the third year of life.
• neglect of alternative explanations for memories.
• lack of empirical foundation of phenomena such as a split in consciousness.

These assessments illustrate the concerns of experts that an unreflected representation of ritual violence as a fact could be dangerous for vulnerable patients. Various specialist groups have then formulated countermeasures in order not to fundamentally question the existence of ritual violence. The independent commission for dealing with sexual child abuse expressed concerns about the possible discrediting of those affected and specialists.

public vs. scientific discussion

A joint position paper from several specialist societies pointed out that the one -sided representations, which were published in the media, such as the Spiegel, must be viewed critically. The German -speaking Society for Psychotraumatology (Degpt) made it clear that the clarification of the existence of ritual violence is a criminological task and should not be regulated superficially by public debates. Science should discuss methodical criticism and discourses in specialist journals instead of mass media.