Recovered memories refers to the recall of traumatic events, typically of sexual abuse in childhood, by adults who have exhibited little or no previous awareness of such experiences. The controversy over the reliability and veracity of such memories has not only split families, but also the psychological profession. The debate has continued, as much in the sober pages of scientific and professional journals, as in the public arenas of press, television and popular books. In the 1980s, this debate was characterised by proponents taking up extreme positions: either all such memories were, by definition, inevitably false or, alternatively, any move to question such memories was a cynical attempt to.
