Organised Sexual Abuse

ORGANISED SEXUAL ABUSE Michael Salter (2013) Routledge. pp. 208. Pbk 26.99 [pounds sterling]. ISBN 978-1-138-78915-9 Salter's first book, Organised Sexual Abuse, is an ambitious attempt to provide a comprehensive account of paedophile networks, their means of operating, and their effects on victims. Whilst Salter ensures that a range of academic perspectives are included throughout the book, its most notable feature is the presence of extensive, firsthand accounts from victims; often graphic, and always harrowing, it is the inclusion of these first-person narratives which makes Organised Sexual Abuse both compelling and disturbing. Salter provides a unique insight into some of the most extreme forms of group sexual exploitation, and through eliciting responses from those subjected to this abuse, he ensures that his book is an authentic account of a sensitive area of study. Organised Sexual Abuse is divided into ten principal chapters, with each chapter containing various sub-divisions. Whilst this guides the reader through the subject matter, the headings and sub-headings of the chapters themselves are not in English. Although this is most probably a typographical error, it leads to difficultly when navigating oneself through the book, especially since the Contents and text of the book are both in English. With the exception of this oversight, Salter provides a comprehensive account of several forms of group paedophilia: ranging from incestuous abuse, to institutionalize paedophile groups, satanic child-abuse gangs and child-murder. Although Salter includes some data on the group sexual abuse of adults, the book's main focus is on child-victims. The first four chapters provide the reader with a detailed theoretical background to the subject; Chapters One and Two present a review of the existing literature, and contextualize the current findings through including the opinions of practitioners. Chapter Three goes on to provide an historical account of the origins of sadism, child abuse and abuse more generally. The information provided is detailed, and is representative of the more sociological approach which Salter adopts throughout the book. Although much of the existing work on child sex-abuse is more psychological/quantitative in its nature, Salter's qualitative methodology provides this topic with a 'human' context, revealing abuse through the eyes of survivors and victims. It is from Chapter Five that these accounts begin in earnest, starting with a harrowing case-study of the author's friend 'Sarah', and her prolonged exposure to organised abuse as a child and as an adult. What makes this chapter particularly compelling is that the author himself was friends with 'Sarah' during a period of this abuse. He was, therefore, a witness to the aftermath of her abuse and the stalking she was subjected to. This level of proximity between author and victim of crime is unusual in an academic text, yet it only serves to increase the vividness of the chapter. The following chapters contain the testimonies of several abuse victims, often including detailed recollections of the horrifying abuse they were subjected to. …