From the sensational media accounts of "false memory", it would be difficult for a person unfamiliar with sex abuse and psychological trauma to form a coherent opinion.
But here's the basic- information often omitted from such stories. There is no such scientific category as "false memory syndrome"; it's an impressive-sounding label, without medical validity, that was dreamed up by the foundation.
The foundation itself was started by Peter and Pamela Freyd, immediately after their grown daughter Jennifer privately confronted them with her memories of incest. Jennifer, an award winning professor of psychology at the University of Oregon, went public only after her parents had mounted a highly emotional public crusade against "false memory" accusations. In their defensive frenzy, they even attempted to enlist Jennifers academic colleagues to serve on their board. Jennifer has been quoted as wondering why her recovering alcoholic fathers memories should have any more credibility than her own.
The foundation's membership is made up of many such accused parents. Its scary statistics and anecdotes are all drawn from informal, non-scientific surveys of these same members. Its roster of impressive "professional advisers" isn't always what it seems. Some are respected researchers; others are hired-gun expert witnesses who travel the continent testifying, for a fee, on behalf of accused child molesters. One such vociferous member, Ralph Underwager, only recently - and hastily - resigned from the board after an interview with him appeared in a Dutch paedophilia magazine. Underwager has described paedophilia as "a responsible choice" and urged paedophiles to boldly "make the claim that paedophilia is an acceptable expression of God's will for love and unity."
