OARMHP

As far back as 1987, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Head of Religious Broadcasting, Dr David Millikan, was told a terrible story from a girl who said she had been repeatedly raped, tortured, and criminally treated twenty years previously in a vicious cult in which her father held membership. The stories were told in great detail, with conviction and clarity. These memories had been explored with a counsellor in Lane Cove, Sydney. No evidence of these stories could be found. Dr Millikan stated that without some collaboration, he could not proceed with the assumption that these memories were true. He met other women who forcefully told of similar experiences, but again with no evidence. He could only question their validity.

The spread of false accusations came from women in mid-life who sought help for a variety of other problems, but were led to believe the cause of their worries was that they were sexually molested as children and had “repressed” their memories. One Australian family after another was shattered by false accusations of sexual abuse. Families were just devastated when first confronted with these accusations of hidden sexual abuse. Slight relief was found when parents found they were not alone; other families had been put in the same position.

Articles such as “Parents the Latest Victims of Widespread Sex Abuse” by Denis Dutton(26-10-93), “Freud the Fraud and How He Got Away With It” by Allen Esterson(15-6-94) in the Sydney Morning Herald and “Preying Games” by Phillip Adams (27-4-96) in The Australian were beginning to appear. At the same time, stories of families being destroyed due to the practice of Recovered Memory Therapy were appearing across the country. Some distraught parents were shown on television, causing thinking Australians to start to question the validity of this therapy now being practised. Some television series and documentaries presented similar stories. The False Memory debate was being pursued across Australia.

Some parents had heard of an organisation that had been inaugurated in U.S.A. - the False Memory Syndrome Foundation , and contacted its Executive Director, Dr Pamela Freyd. A number of affected families joined this Philadelphia-based Foundation. It soon became apparent that a similar organisation was needed to fight the battles and to be ready to support distressed parents in Australia. So in August, 1994, the Australian False Memory Association Incorporated was launched, with the inaugural meeting held in Adelaide.

The Committee of the newly-formed group consisted of a President from Victoria, a Secretary, Treasurer and Public Officer all from South Australia, and an Editor from Victoria. A Brochure was prepared in two parts to publicise AFMA. The first section gave reasons for the formation of the Association with support contacts for parents; the second section explained that therapists practising Repressed Memory Therapy were treating symptoms such as depression, eating disorders, lack of self-esteem etc. by leading their patients to believe they had been sexually abused when children.

Members of the Professional Advisory Board with their qualifications were listed. These included a Professor and and Director of Psychiatry from a Melbourne University, a Consultant Psychiatrist, Senior Neuropsychologist from a Melbourne Hospital , the Founder of the Melbourne Centre of Effective Therapy, a Cleric, Broadcaster and Author from Sydney, a Forensic Physician with the Victorian Police Force, a Professor of Psychology in Canada, and a Psychologist in private practice, specialising in sexual abuse counselling.

The newly formed committee asked two of its members to attend a Conference on “Memory and Reality Reconciliation” in Baltimore, U.S.A. This Conference was sponsored by the John Hopkins Medical Institutions and FMSF. Speakers included Terence Campbell, author of Beware of the Talking Cure; Richard Ofshe, author of Making Monsters; and Elizabeth Loftus, prominent researcher on memory and prolific author of books such as The Myth Of Repressed Memory. A full report was presented to members at that time. Members now span every State of Australia.

An Australian Committee continues to function with volunteers. Each State has a State Representative who conducts meetings and plans campaigns relevant to their specific location. The Australia-wide committee communicates via email and at its Annual General Meeting. This meeting is usually conducted in Melbourne or Sydney and calls on professional speakers from inter-state and overseas.

Our current issue is the accusation of sexual abuse being made against our Governor General. This gives AFMA the opportunity to bring the issue of induced, repressed, recovered, or delayed memory therapy to the centre of the public arena. Our aim is to have it exposed and the practice banned by Health authorities.

Reference: Memory Mayhem - June and Kenneth Godwin Document Services, University of South Australia, 1997 Second Printing 2001

Australian False Memory Association Homepage: http://www.afma.asn.au/index.html