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Natascha Kampusch - 8 Years In Captivity

I placed this story here because it is heinous, there was no death, but in this case could be one of the slowest tortures ever… 18 years long. I also wish to discuss the aspect of what the news reports as a built in survival method wherein the person starts to see their captor as a 'friend'.

Image from Source 2i

Captivity Years Kampusch Natascha

The article mentions Stockholm Syndrome but not that the girl actually made the kidnapper her friend. I'm sure that it did happen though, especially after all that time. The study of Stockholm Syndrome itself is very unique and its interesting that in many cases, it develops very quickly in a situation like this. It sometimes to develop to a point in which the girl probably helped him not get caught within the first six months of the kidnapping.

I am interested to find out the remaining tests results for her. I am curious to know what type of abuse outside the obvious imprisonment in a small area. I also want to know how she escaped. Was the door left open when he went to kill himself or did she escape some other way?

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The part I mentioned about her becoming a friend to him was reported by the BBC and they said it is a natural survival tool inbuilt into humans. You can see evidence of this in animals… if a creature cannot defend itself then it will either fight to the death or become docile / subordinate to the superior beast.

You have to think that this was just a little girl when she was taken, and may have been the victim of rape and other forms of torture which for her may now be 'normal'. How does one recover from a missing eight years?

Captivity Years Kampusch Natascha

That's the problem in my view: He taught her through however he treated her that she had to submit to whatever he wanted. How long will it take her to recover from that and have normal relationships with people? Not just men, but anyone? It's telling that the first thing she asked her father was whether or not he still had a particular toy she liked. She's still a very little girl "inside."

Captivity Years Kampusch Natascha

He also forced her to call him "master" so you can well imagine the kind of torture this girl went through, treated worst than a slave.

Natascha Kampusch - 8 Years In Captivity

It is cases like these that make me a strong advocate of the death penalty, I cannot see much use in having a monster like this alive - isn't it better for him to meet his Maker a little bit faster so he can feel the torment of the afterlife? Or, even if you believe in no afterlife, isn't it better that such beings be destroyed rather than live among us? Consider that they put a dog to sleep just for biting someone, and we keep alive and feed someone who assaults, rapes, kidnaps, tortures, etc.

With regards to the actual terminology, does anyone know the name of this survival mechanism?

Natascha Kampusch 8 Years Captivity

You mean when the victim becomes a "friend" of the abuser/kidnapper, etc? It is called Stockholm syndrome:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome

In this particular case, the girl said she will not answer any personal or intimate questions and there are news reports that she may be pregnant.
She weigh less than she did as a 10-year-old, and does not feel she missed out on life. In some ways she even benefitted from her captivity, she suggests, because she was not tempted to smoke or drink, or mix with the wrong friends.

She made some VERY interesting statements, I recommend to read the whole article and share your views:

Whole statement here: https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/Hi/world/europe/5293198.stm?ls

Edited: LDS_forever on 29th Aug, 2006 - 5:19pm

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Stockholm syndrome - that is it, I wonder how they claim the same here, has she defended this guy? Regardless, her words do show the psychological damage, but at least she can distinguish reality from her ordeal.