Ralph Underwager
Encyclopedia
Ralph Underwager was an American
minister and psychologist
who rose to prominence as a defense witness for adults accused of child sexual abuse
in the 1980s and 1990s. Until his death in 2003, he was the director of the Institute for Psychological Therapies
, which he founded in 1974. He was also a founder of Victims of Child Abuse Laws (VOCAL), a lobby group which represented the interests of parents whose children had been removed from their care by social services over abuse allegations, and he was a founding member of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation
.
He earned a masters degree from Concordia Seminary of St. Louis and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota
. He was a pastor of Lutheran Churches in Iowa and Minnesota.
. On the stand, Underwager argued that the children’s testimony of abuse was the result of brainwashing by social workers using Communist thought-reform techniques. The accused couple were acquitted, and they joined with Underwager to form VOCAL, a lobby group for people who had been accused of child abuse by social services.
Within a year of its establishment, VOCAL claimed 3000 members in 100 chapters across America. VOCAL members picketed hospitals, courts and social service departments who they characterized as staffed by “Gestapo-like” “fanatics”, “quacks and zealots” who remove children solely based on “rumours”. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, VOCAL made several attempts to have legislation passed that would limit the powers of child protection services. Nationally, VOCAL campaigned to lift the burden of proof in child protection cases to a criminal standard. In Florida, VOCAL lobbied to restrict mandatory reporting requirements. VOCAL criticized child abuse prevention programs, claiming that they create sexually aware children who might misinterpret innocent touch from an adult.
, Australia
, New Zealand
and Britain
. In court and in the media, Underwager claimed that 60% of women sexually abused in childhood reported that the experience was good for them, he characterized child protection investigations as nothing less than an "assault on the family as an institution" and he alleged that 75% of mothers alleging sexual abuse in custody proceedings suffered from a "severe personality disorder" that prompted them to manufacture false allegations. He claimed that forensic interviews with children inevitably lead the child to confabulate an account of satanic ritual abuse
because the "fantasy world of children is filled with mayhem, murder, cannibalism, blood and gore". He claimed that all forensic interviews with children provoked this sadistic sexual fantasy life, creating "psychotic" and sexualized children who were "ruined for life".
Psychologist Anna Salter
argued that Underwager and Wakefield's claims as outlined above demonstrated "systematic misrepresentations" of reputable research, and often that Underwager and Wakefield made claims contrary to their sources. Salter also claimed that in response to her criticism of Underwager's courtroom testimony and for claiming he lied in order to help child molesters evade punishment, Underwager filed several unsuccessful suits against Salter as well as other threatening actions.
and end his career as an expert witness because of an article that appeared in "Moving Forward: A Newsjournal for Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse and Their Supporters" by its editor, Lana R. Lawrence, that included an interview with Underwager and a series of excerpts from an interview he and Hollida Wakefield—his wife and also an FMFS advisory board member—had given to a non-referred, pro-pedophila pseudoacademic publication, Paidika: The Journal of Paedophilia. In the Paidika interview Underwager was asked "Is choosing paedophilia for you a responsible choice for the individual?", Underwager responded, Underwager and his wife's comments were in the context of their view that the best prevention programs for sex-abuse of children were those that focused on stopping the actions of abusers. Underwager later claimed that "radical feminists who have self-styled themselves as sex-abuse experts" had taken the interview out of context and misrepresented his answers, reiterating previous statements that he believed "sexual contact between an adult and a child is [n]ever acceptable nor can it ever be positive." Underwager and Wakefield had specifically stated that sexual contact between adults and children is always harmful in their 1994 book Return of the Furies.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
minister and psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
who rose to prominence as a defense witness for adults accused of child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
in the 1980s and 1990s. Until his death in 2003, he was the director of the Institute for Psychological Therapies
Institute for Psychological Therapies
The Institute for Psychological Therapies is a research group for clinical psychology in Northfield, Minnesota run by Ralph Underwager until his death in 2003.-Background:...
, which he founded in 1974. He was also a founder of Victims of Child Abuse Laws (VOCAL), a lobby group which represented the interests of parents whose children had been removed from their care by social services over abuse allegations, and he was a founding member of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation
False Memory Syndrome Foundation
The False Memory Syndrome Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1992 by Pamela and Peter Freyd, after being accused by their adult daughter Jennifer Freyd of sexual abuse when she was a child...
.
Background
Underwager was married to Hollida Wakefield.He earned a masters degree from Concordia Seminary of St. Louis and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
. He was a pastor of Lutheran Churches in Iowa and Minnesota.
Founder of VOCAL
Underwager first appeared in court as a defense witness for two of the accused in the 1984 Jordan, Minnesota case, one of the earliest attempts to prosecute alleged organized child sexual abuse in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. On the stand, Underwager argued that the children’s testimony of abuse was the result of brainwashing by social workers using Communist thought-reform techniques. The accused couple were acquitted, and they joined with Underwager to form VOCAL, a lobby group for people who had been accused of child abuse by social services.
Within a year of its establishment, VOCAL claimed 3000 members in 100 chapters across America. VOCAL members picketed hospitals, courts and social service departments who they characterized as staffed by “Gestapo-like” “fanatics”, “quacks and zealots” who remove children solely based on “rumours”. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, VOCAL made several attempts to have legislation passed that would limit the powers of child protection services. Nationally, VOCAL campaigned to lift the burden of proof in child protection cases to a criminal standard. In Florida, VOCAL lobbied to restrict mandatory reporting requirements. VOCAL criticized child abuse prevention programs, claiming that they create sexually aware children who might misinterpret innocent touch from an adult.
Career as a defense witness
Underwager was a prolific defense expert for people accused of child sexual abuse. By the late 1980s, he had appeared in court on behalf of defendants in child sexual abuse cases more than 200 times in the US, CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. In court and in the media, Underwager claimed that 60% of women sexually abused in childhood reported that the experience was good for them, he characterized child protection investigations as nothing less than an "assault on the family as an institution" and he alleged that 75% of mothers alleging sexual abuse in custody proceedings suffered from a "severe personality disorder" that prompted them to manufacture false allegations. He claimed that forensic interviews with children inevitably lead the child to confabulate an account of satanic ritual abuse
Satanic ritual abuse
Satanic ritual abuse refers to the abuse of a person or animal in a ritual setting or manner...
because the "fantasy world of children is filled with mayhem, murder, cannibalism, blood and gore". He claimed that all forensic interviews with children provoked this sadistic sexual fantasy life, creating "psychotic" and sexualized children who were "ruined for life".
Psychologist Anna Salter
Anna Salter
-Education, clinical and research work:In 1968, Salter earned a BA in English and Philosophy from the University of North Carolina. Her Masters was in Child Development at Tufts University , and her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and Public Practice at Harvard University .Salter has an emphasis in...
argued that Underwager and Wakefield's claims as outlined above demonstrated "systematic misrepresentations" of reputable research, and often that Underwager and Wakefield made claims contrary to their sources. Salter also claimed that in response to her criticism of Underwager's courtroom testimony and for claiming he lied in order to help child molesters evade punishment, Underwager filed several unsuccessful suits against Salter as well as other threatening actions.
Interview controversy
Underwager was forced to resign from the advisory board of the False Memory Syndrome FoundationFalse Memory Syndrome Foundation
The False Memory Syndrome Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1992 by Pamela and Peter Freyd, after being accused by their adult daughter Jennifer Freyd of sexual abuse when she was a child...
and end his career as an expert witness because of an article that appeared in "Moving Forward: A Newsjournal for Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse and Their Supporters" by its editor, Lana R. Lawrence, that included an interview with Underwager and a series of excerpts from an interview he and Hollida Wakefield—his wife and also an FMFS advisory board member—had given to a non-referred, pro-pedophila pseudoacademic publication, Paidika: The Journal of Paedophilia. In the Paidika interview Underwager was asked "Is choosing paedophilia for you a responsible choice for the individual?", Underwager responded, Underwager and his wife's comments were in the context of their view that the best prevention programs for sex-abuse of children were those that focused on stopping the actions of abusers. Underwager later claimed that "radical feminists who have self-styled themselves as sex-abuse experts" had taken the interview out of context and misrepresented his answers, reiterating previous statements that he believed "sexual contact between an adult and a child is [n]ever acceptable nor can it ever be positive." Underwager and Wakefield had specifically stated that sexual contact between adults and children is always harmful in their 1994 book Return of the Furies.