Satanic panic (South Africa)
The Satanic panic is a moral panic about alleged widespread Satanic ritual abuse which originated around the 1980s in the United States, peaking in the early 1990s, before waning as a result of the scepticism of academics and law enforcement agencies who ultimately debunked the claims. The phenomenon spread from the United States to other countries, including South Africa, where it is still evident periodically. South Africa was particularly associated with the Satanic panic because of the creation of the Occult Related Crimes Unit in 1992, described as the "world's only 'ritual murder' task force". According to anthropologist Annika Teppo, this was linked with powerful conservative Christian forces within the then-dominant white community in the last years of apartheid.
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