Incest: The Unspoken Crime
Did you know that this is a increasingly common problem. It is even likely that some of your close personal friends have been victims of this horrible type of crime. Parents should make themselves aware of this problem not try to hide from it, which is what some parents are currently doing. Incest is a sexual activity between close relatives. It is suspected that much of this activity goes on between brothers and sisters, although most of the time it is not reported.
Accounting for most of the reported cases are instances when children are molested by their fathers or stepfathers. In her book “Against Our Will” Susan Brownmiller says: “The sexually abused child is statistically more prevalent than the physically abused or battered child. You may not realize is but incest is actually an epidemic according to many researchers. There are about 25 million women in America today that have suffered incestuous abuse as children.
Would you believe that there are actually people who think this type of behavior is healthy. As a parent how do you feel about this viewpoint? Children who have been abused in this way are sometimes driven to suicide attempts starting as young as 10 years old. There are some that are unable to have normal sex relations when they are older. Researchers have even proven the fact that incest causes more emotional turmoil than rape. Not to say that rape is not a horrible thing. The molester is imposing on a very close and important relationship.
They end up feeling like they are there for sexual pleasure, and that is their only purpose in life. Many of the times they are so afraid of this person that they will not tell their parents what is going on. Parents are also blind to what is going on with their children. They often feel that it can not happen in their home, or that one of their relatives would never do something like this. Although many people do not care about the molester, but when it is a case of incest it is usually the brother, sister or cousin . They usually are in need of help themselves. They often feel shame and self hatred, and all the time becoming more and more involved. Some who turn to a life of incesect may actually be psychotic, but most are not.
Another thing that can contribute is family problems. Usually if a man losses his job or going through some other problems in his life they can begin to feel alienated from his wife and look elsewhere for closeness. If this has happened to someone in your family there are several things that you can do to handle the problem. Although this will not be an easy thing to do. Many families often try to keep it hidden. Many mothers who may suspect that something is going on sometimes turn a blind eye, because they are afraid of disrupting the family.
Many doctors have stated however that children seldom lie about incest. If you think something is going on with your children do not hesitate to find out what. Even if it means that you may be running a risk of offending someone you love. It is better to offend someone and be wrong, that not say anything and find out years later that your child was hurt and you did nothing about it.
