JAYCEE LEE DUGARD AND THE STOCKHOLM SYNDROME

Jaycee Lee Dugard and her two children were rescued 18 years after she was kidnapped in South Lake Tahoe at age 11. During the 18 year period her alleged kidnapper, Phillip Garrido fathered her two children, now aged 11 and 15. She was hidden away in tents and a shed in back of Garrido’s Antioch, California residence.

The question is why didn’t Dugard escape with her two children. She certainly had chances. At one point there was a report that Garrido and his wife, Nancy were keeping a woman and her children in their back yard. A sheriff went to the door. The sheriff spoke to Garrido who told them no one was there and the deputy left. On the day Dugard was rescued Garrido took Dugard and the two children to UC Berkeley to hand out religious tracts. Apparently she had opportunities to escape from the shed at night and or on the limited number of instances where she left the residence with Garrido.

The experts point to a phenomenon known as the Stockholm Syndrome. Initially the kidnapped person feels anger and shock. But people suffering from the Stockholm Syndrome then feel helpless and they are totally dependent on their captor. They also develop feelings of “love” towards their captor.

The Stockholm Syndrome was originally named after four individuals in a Stockholm bank who were kidnapped as part of an August 1973 robbery. The Stockholm witnesses went so far as to develop intimate relations with their captors and to finance their legal defense.

The case of Jaycee Lee Dugard is unique. The fact that she has been found alive, after 18 years and that she was kidnapped as a child and is now an adult are unique. Without similar cases to compare it to her future is unclear. But we do know is that it will be difficult. The initial signs are that she bonded with her kidnappers and that reintegration with her family and society will be difficult. She will need therapy and support.