Everyday Victim Blaming

challenging institutional disbelief around domestic & sexual violence and abuse

Our complaint to the BBC re: David Aaronovitch’s programme on ritual abuse

This is the formal complaint we have submitted to the BBC. We have published the complaint by RASAC South London here.

Aaronovitch's programme on ritual abuse was misleading and inaccurate. It failed to include details of successful prosecutions within the UK where ritual abuse, including satanic ritual abuse, were found to have occurred. Whilst it is true that there is no evidence on satanic ritual abuse as a global conspiracy, there have been a number of separate cases within the UK where satanic rituals were a feature of multi-perpetrator (and multi-generational) abuse: Rotherham, Orkney, Nottingham.

Aaronovitch's assumptions that children lie about abuse is extremely concerning, particularly in light of the allegations raised during the numerous inquiries into Jimmy Savile's history of abuse (and it it ironic that the BBC allowed this program to air considering the systemic failures within the BBC to hold protect children & female staff from Jimmy Savile and other celebrities). It is also worth noting that Aaronovitch has also written about "moral panics" into paedophilia and child sexual exploitation minimising the sexual abuse experienced by children.

Please review the following sources for details on Aaronovitch's misleading coverage:

Tim Tate
Sarah Nelson

BBC online complaints can be made here.

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