Editing Satanic panic (section)

====United States====
{{Further|Day-care sex-abuse hysteria}}
[[David Finkelhor]] completed an investigation of child sexual abuse in daycares in the United States and published a report in 1988. The report found 270 cases of sexual abuse, of which 36 were classified as substantiated cases of ritual abuse.<ref name=Finkelhor/> [[Mary de Young]] has pointed out that the report's definition of "substantiated" was overly liberal as it required only that one agency had decided that abuse had occurred, even if no action was taken, no arrests made, no operating licenses suspended. In addition, multiple agencies may have been involved in each case (including the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]], local police, social services agencies and childhood protective services in many cases), with wide differences in suspicion and confirmation, often in disagreement with each other. Finkelhor, upon receiving a "confirmation", would collect information from whoever was willing or interested to provide it and did not independently investigate the cases, resulting in frequent errors in his conclusions. No data is provided beyond case studies and brief summaries.{{sfn |de Young |2004 |p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=_e8ZkJBtz0EC&pg=PA102 102]}} Three other cases considered corroborating by the public<ref name=lat87>{{Cite web | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-13-me-28514-story.html |title = Tales of Satanism Mark Molestation Cases : Children's Macabre Testimony Sometimes Derails Prosecutions|website = [[Los Angeles Times]]|date = 13 December 1987}}</ref>—the [[McMartin preschool trial]], the [[Country Walk case]] and the murders in [[Matamoros, Tamaulipas|Matamoros]], by [[Adolfo Constanzo]]—ultimately failed to support the existence of SRA. The primary witness in the Country Walk case repeatedly made, then withdrew accusations against [[Frank Fuster|her husband]] amid unusual and coercive inquiries by her lawyer and a psychologist.<ref name="nr">{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2018/09/10/the-last-victim/|title=The Last Victim|date=August 23, 2018 |publisher=[[National Review]] |first=Rael Jean |last=Isaac |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190330232529/https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2018/09/10/the-last-victim/ |archive-date=2019-03-30 }}</ref> The Matamoros murders produced the bodies of 12 adults who were ritually sacrificed by a drug gang inspired by the film ''[[The Believers (film)|The Believers]]'', but did not involve children or sexual abuse. The McMartin case resulted in no convictions and was ultimately based on accusations by children with no proof beyond their coerced testimonies.{{sfn |Faller |2003 |pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FkT2wTGTUAoC&pg=PA29 29–33]}} A 1990/1991 survey of clinicians, which reviewed 386 allegations of ritual and 191 allegations of religious abuse, described 10% and under 3% of those allegations, respectively, as unfounded following social service investigation.<ref name=Bottoms1996>{{cite journal |last1=Bottoms |first1=B.L. |last2=Shaver |first2=P.R. |last3=Goodman |first3=G.S. |year=1996 |title=An analysis of ritualistic and religion-related child abuse allegations |journal=Law and Human Behavior |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=1–34 |doi=10.1007/BF01499130|citeseerx=10.1.1.414.7819 |s2cid=13979744 }}</ref>