Wiktionary
n. Any form of physical, sexual, or psychological mistreatment that involves the use of ritual.
Usage examples of "ritual abuse".
In a survey of 2,700 members of the American Psychological Association, 12 per cent replied that they had treated cases of satanic ritual abuse (while 30 per cent reported cases of abuse done in the name of religion).
Beginning with ritual abuse of the Empress, with lists of her crimes, murders, bribes, sexual relations with lizards, and so on, he proceeds eventually to issue in ringing tones the Imam's nightly call to his people to rise up against the evil of her State.
Minor, who believed that most MPD cases were the result, not of ordinary child abuse, but of ritual abuse perpetrated by a nationwide conspiracy of Satanic cults.
For example: I've lately been thinking about alien abductions, and false claims of childhood sexual abuse, and stories of satanic ritual abuse in the context of recovered memories.
As in satanic ritual abuse claims (and echoing 'Devil's marks' in the witch trials), the most common physical evidence pointed to are scars and 'scoop marks' on the bodies of abductees - who say they have no knowledge of where their scars came from.