The SAID Victim - What They Learn
Recall the time in your youth when you and your playmates took apples from a
neighbors tree and consider three scenarios: 1) You took the apples, you know
the neighbor saw you, and you were confronted; 2) You took the apples however
the neighbor did not see you, and you were confronted; and 3) You never took
any apples but were accused.  Remember your reactions to each.
In March 1986 Dr. Sharon Satterfield (University of Minnesota) testified be-
fore the Minnesota Attorney General's Task Force On Child Abuse Within the
Family.
Dr. Satterfield was asked "what happens to the children who have been falsely
identified as being sexually abused?" She replied, "the most horrendous thing
that can happen to a family is to be falsely accused. There are many well 
oc-
umented cases of reported abuse where abuse did not occur.  It is a nightmare
for both the accused and the children". She continued, "the acute symptoms of
families who have been falsely accused are similar to those symptoms of 
amil-
ies where abuse has occurred.     It is a post traumatic stress disorder that
these families go through."
In October 1986 the final report on the Minnesota task force included the
statement, "Not every allegation of abuse is true.  The impact of false
allegations on families can be devastating--the stigma within the community,
the potential loss of employment, and the trauma to all within the family.
In child custody cases this problem is particularly evident".
This task force followed the Scott County, Minnesota abuse cases. A report on
that investigation was issued in February 1985.
Also in 1986, while Minnesota was gathering information for its task force on
child abuse, the Research Unit of the Association of Family and Conciliation
Courts announced it was seeking input for the Abuse Allegation Project.  This
project sought information on sexual abuse allegations in divorce cases.
A notice on this project appeared in a 1986 copy of the Family Advocate, one
of many publications not initially known to falsely accused persons. Network-
ing by special interest groups urged SAID Victims to respond to the project
and many did to the researchers at the Association of Family and Conciliation
Courts.
How then does an individual react after being accused of doing something they
never did, specifically SAID Victims?  There have been comments from the men-
tal health community but no in-depth research studies are found in the re-
source material. Most material has been written by special interest groups
and falsely accused individuals.
Until proper research is conducted, along with changes required in the mental
health and legal disciplines, SAID Victims will continue an innate 
ducational
process on the social issue they involuntarily became involved in. Emotional
support, effective issue-educated legal representation, and precise documen-
tation are predominant needs for the falsely accused.
There are a number of things that SAID Victims must do when a false 
ccusation
occurs, however because of many factors they are not often in the best
position to properly defend themselves (timeliness, the trauma of a false
accusation, and lack of knowledge on the issues).
Extremely competent and knowledgeable legal counsel is required, whether or
not an accusation of child abuse is made in the context of custody or visi-
tation litigation.  Attorneys have many cases in which they are involved,
falsely accused persons have only one, which they know best.
Experience has shown that individuals who help their own cause have a better
chance of success.  The collecting of pertinent information, a chronology of
events, and supporting resource material is very important and may be used as
a basis for direct and cross-examination of witnesses by legal counsel.
Most SAID Victims initially respond to a false accusation by contacting lay
groups. These groups provide some of the first resource material on the
accusations issue as well as other social issues that easily explain why the
groups were formed.   SAID Victims quickly realize they are not alone; other
individuals have been accused under the same circumstances, others are
presently living the nightmare.
The falsely accused then find themselves involved in a networking phase with
understanding and informative strangers: Bob Adams, Jimmy Boyd, Jim Cook,
Peter Cyr, Nat Denman, Richard Doyle, Richard Esdale, Bob Hirschfeld, Randy
Ingle, Robert Karls, George Kelly, Al Lebow, David Levy, Ken Lewis, Bob
McGuigan, Michael Naylor, Ken Pangborn, John Rutherford, Peter Sokaris, Tony
Steffes, Dick Woods, and many others.
Contacts with lay groups can be critically important to SAID Victims. Depend-
ing on when an accusation was made, and the status of legal matters, timely
advice may be offered which can have a profound effect on the future of the
falsely accused and the children involved. Thanks is given to the above indi-
viduals and their organizations for helping SAID Victims.
The falsely accused soon find themselves reading newsletters called Legal
Beagles, Liberators, Court Watchers, Divorce Watchers, Father's Reviews,
Father's Forums, Father's Journals, NetWORK, Transitions, Speak Out For
Children, and numerous others.  The subject matter in these publications
tells more than who the SAID Victims are, concern is expressed for the
true victims of the accusations - the children.
True SAID Victims acquire, share, and read everything they can on the ac-
cusations issue. Phone and mail expenses increase; networking expands (at
times to other countries); and frequent trips to community, university,
and legal libraries are made.  Sports Illustrated, Popular Mechanics, and
other publications of past interest are no longer read as an abrupt life-
style change, born of necessity, emerges.
The falsely accused learn of professional associations, and private enter-
prises, they did not know existed: the Association of Family and Concilia-
tion Courts, the American Orthopsychiatric Association, the National Asso-
ciation of Social Workers, the American Psychological Association, the Am-
erican Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the American Academy
of Psychotherapists, and the Institute for Psychological Therapies are on-
ly a few.
For obvious reasons the first resource material that SAID Victims receive 
rom
special interest groups relates to accusations made in the context of custody
and visitation disputes. The falsely accused learn of individuals from the
medical, mental health, and other professions who express concerns on the 
any
issues associated with sexual child abuse: Dr. Elissa P. Benedek, Douglas J.
Besharov, Dr. Gordon Blush, Dr. Harold Boverman, Dr. Lee Coleman, Kathleen M.
Dillon, Margretta Dwyer, Robert L. Emans, Dr. Richard A. Gardner, Corey L.
Gordon, Dr. Arthur H. Green, Dr. Melvin Guyer, Dr. William F. McIver, Dr.
David C. Raskin, Dr. Domeena C. Renshaw, Karol Ross, Dr. Diane H. Schetky,
Professor LeRoy G. Schultz, Dr. Daniel C. Schuman, William D. Slicker, Dr.
Ralph C. Underwager, Dr. Alayne Yates, Dr. John C. Yuille, and numerous
others.
The falsely accused obtain publications these authors cite and note that they
appear to represent one segment of the overall mental health community.  The
falsely accused is aware that learning only one side of an issue is fundamen-
tally wrong, yet later discover many individuals, representing all levels of
this community, have no interest in educating themselves on the accusations
issue, and the word "mindset" is added to an expanding vocabulary.
>>> End - The SAID Victim, Part 2 of 6: Reid Kimbrough---
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