HOME

What is SRA? SRA stands for satanic ritual abuse. I am not going to go into details of what takes place during rituals, but rather to discuss what SRA involves.

Ritual abuse is a particularly extreme form of abuse that involves every facet of a persons being. It involves sexual, physical, spiritual and psychological abuse repeated regularly and generally over a long period of time.

The Ritual Abuse Task Force of the L.A. County Commission For Women (1989 report) defines ritual abuse as:

" Ritual abuse usually involves repeated abuse over an extended period of time. The physical abuse is severe, sometimes including torture and killing. The sexual abuse is usually painful, humiliating, intended as a means of gaining dominance over the victim. The psychological abuse is devastating and involves the use of ritual indoctrination. It includes mind control techniques which convey to the victim a profound terror of the cult memebers...most victims are in a state of terror, mind control and dissociation."

SRA, is ritual abuse in the name of worship of Satan.

Survivors often take on D.I.D. (Dissociative Identity Disorder), although in some cult groups, they use physical and psychological abuse in their "programming" (mind control) to induce an "alter" for a specific purpose or role. Mind altering drugs are often used as well to aid in the feeling of "reality", instilling once again that no-one would believe you, as well as to aid in "programming".

Each cult group have varying techniques, approaches and even beliefs. Some are more heavily involved in one area of abuse, such as physical and sexual abuse, whereas others may concentrate more on the aspect of spiritual abuse. The ceremonies and rituals performed are often twisted presentations of the traditional Judeo-Christian rites and beliefs. The repeated and extreme abuse is designed to:
~ Replace the persons natural instincts and rationale with the ideology and beliefs of the group
~Prevent the victim from separating from the group.

There also tends to be a generational link to many survivors of SRA.

Triggers

There are three general kinds of triggers that are purposefully programmed by cult groups during controlled settings. Physical abuse, psychological abuse and drug use are often used (often a combination of these abuses are used together) during this time to set the triggers.

By having a better understanding of these triggers, survivors can more efficiently function on a daily basis, as well as begin the journey to recover from the abuse by beginning the breaking down of such programming cues...

These kinds of triggers include the following:

Generic Program Cues
These are cues that initiate internal enactment of thoughts and feelings from past experiences, so that we are bound and enslaved without the necessity of direct monitoring and control by cult members. For example, words or symbols which cause thoughts and feelings that reinforce their belief systems, eg. "I belong to them because..." or "It is true, you can't trust anyone..."

Specific Program Cues
These are objects, images, phrases, sensory stimulants etc which are designed to set off a sequence of thoughts and actions or to make oneself a functional tool (perhaps induce the 'alter' that represents the role in the cult) available for use by the cult. A specific cue might be a word combination with a symbol or object to induce a trance state.

Reminders - both Generic and Specific
Reminder triggers are any responses that influence present experiences with aspects of unresolved trauma. Examples of generic reminder triggers are holidays, relationships, anniversarys, feelings, situations, which remind us of a past experience in such a way that we cannot remain conscious of the present as such. Specific reminder triggers are for example a certain colour (perhaps the colour of the attire you had to wear at riuals, or the colour red might trigger the sight of blood), the smell of alcohol (trigger memories of certain rituals), faeces which remind us of being shamed and punished etc.

Echoes
Echoe triggers are situations in which the emotional dynamics in some way, replicate a past relationship of abuse. For example, when a survivor is expected to be able to do something they are unable to do. The survivor might experience a "crises of expectations", in that s/he is overtaken with rage, suicidal ideation, helpless or hopeless feelings. Because conditioning often demands that the victim perform impossible and outrageous acts, with a life or death outcome for which the victim is made to feel responsible for. Situations which replicate these dynamics cause frequent overwhelming reactions in survivors.