Psychological Violence of Incest

Most of the following information is extracted from an article by Joyce Spencer entitled "FatherDaughter Incest: A Clinical View from the Corrections Field", which appeared in Child Welfare League Journal, November 1978, and a recent 3-hour presentation by Spencer and Jan Felixson for Free Clinic mental health workers.

Joyce Spencer has been working with incest victims for 29 years. Before coming to Cleveland she spent.17 years working with the Akron Juvenile Court system. During her 12 years in Cleveland, she has served on the Ohio Youth Commission, supervised students at CWRU's School of Applied Social Science, and worked with the Cleveland Juvenile Court. Currently she teaches "Human Sexuality and Social Work Practice" at SASS and works with the Lake County Juvenile Court system.

Jan Felixson is Director of Day Care at Bellefaire Residential Treatment Center for Children. In her 7 years of experience in working with incest victims, she has served as supervisor of youth counselors at the Ohio Youth Commission and as Director of the Rap Art Center.

In this article, incest [sexual abuse] will be defined as “any sexual activity with a child, ringing from excessive fondling to penetration, by an adult male within the family, e.g., father, stepfather, grandfather, uncle, mother's boyfriend, etc.

No one knows just how prevalent incest is, but research suggests it is much more widespread than we would like to believe. One study estimated 832,000 cases in the U.S. in a 15-year period, based on known cases of complaints and prosecution. Because of the secrecy surrounding incest and the victim's feelings of shame, guilt, isolation, and fear, most offenses. probably are never revealed. If a child does reveal her "secret" to a mother, aunt, counselor, or another adult, she is usually disbelieved or ignored. If, in rare instances, the case goes to trial, she is subjected to the same "Blame the Victim" process that operates in most rape cases, further reinforcing her sense of "badness" and responsibility for the incestuous situation.

Many of the victims of incest Spencer and Felixson see are adolescent girls who appear in court for "anti-social" behaviors-“promiscuity", drug abuse, or running away from home. In many cases, they believe, these behaviors are symptoms of sexual abuse. Unfortunately, the courts tend to concentrate on controlling the behaviors, rather than trying to understand their cause. For numerous reasons, including their belief that they would be blamed, many girls who have been subjected to sexual abuse go through the entire justice system without revealing their secret.

Although every case of incest is different, there are some distinctive patterns. The sexual abuse usually begins when the child is very young (6 to 10 or even younger) and first appears in the form of affection, attention, and fondling. Based on Felixson's and Spencer's counseling experience, incestuous behavior is initiated by the father and involves a lengthy "conditioning", or "courting" period until the girl reaches puberty, when actual penetration usually occurs. Throughout the ordeal, the girl is confused and usually feels responsible for the situation. Part of her needs the affection and attention she receives, particularly since, in many cases, this is her primary source of attention. There also might be an element of pleasure involved. At the same time, the man lets her know she must be secretive. She becomes the

"bad" one in the family, feels "different" from other girls her age, and increasingly sees herself as a sexual object. She feels powerless and out of control of her situation and her life.

Spencer sees patterns emerge among men who commit incest as well. They are often hard workers who appear very concerned about their families. They tend to be rigid and authoritarian, controlling their families with fear rather than emotional support. They are often physically abusive, as well as sexually abusive. The father's sexual behavior is essentially the same whether or not alcoholism is a

factor. Sometimes he is a "religious fanatic", who expresses concern about his daughter's "evil" ways as she grows older. He is often insecure about his own masculinity and confines his sexual activity to children. If there is more than one girl in the family, he usually abuses them all-moving down the line. from the oldest to youngest. If the court takes his daughter from the home, he may choose the next youngest child as his target or find another woman with young female children to continue his pattern of abuse.

Many of the mothers seen in a family counseling situation have themselves been incestuously abused as children. The mother sees herself as helpless, powerless, and self-sacrificing to "keep the family together" and will eventually voice her own unmet needs. Because of her total dependency upon the father or boyfriend, the mother tends to reject the child rather than the man. If forced to face the situation, she will usually try to deny it or blame the girl as the "bad" one. Her daughter, in turn, perceives her mother as cold and feels she cannot trust her, whereas the father appears to be the most "caring" person in the family. These perceptions further reinforce the girl's feelings of guilt and responsibility.

Many adult women who have been victims of incest and have not had a chance to work through their feelings of guilt, anger and their resulting depression have difficulty establishing positive relationships as adults. They tend to continue their self-destructive behaviors (prostitution, drugs, suicide attempts, etc.). Others tend to seek men like their fathers (as do victims of child abuse), which leads to the grim

possibility of a generational pattern of incest,

The picture of incest is tragic, but Spencer and Felixson see several possible points of intervention to

help break the generational pattern and perpetuation of incest. If a child does manage to involve an adult as a helping person (such as an aunt or a counselor), she must be convinced there is a commitment to end the sexual abuse. She must be protected, believed, cared about, and supported in her right to stop the abuse. She must be made to feel worthwhile by someone who sces her as worthwhile to counteract her negative self-image. She must be allowed to express her ambivalence toward her parents, her anger, guilt, and disgust.

Psychologists and psychiatrists themselves must learn to deal with incest, rather than dismissing the girl's or woman's experience as "fantasy" as they have traditionally done. Spencer says, "We've been

Psychology Today

set back by an assumption that Freud's Ocdipus complex produces fantasies which are then revealed as fact. Never have I seen a case where a report of incest has not been true."

Where incest is prosecuted in court, someone with a thorough understanding of the dynamics of incest should help the child deal with the inevitable trauma inflicted by the defense attorney who will attempt to discredit her.

There is a need for new laws based on an understanding of the dynamics of incest. We need to establish more legal clinics with attorneys and social workers committed to ending sexual abuse of children. We must continue to challenge the notion that children "belong" to their parents. We must continue to support existing Rape Crisis Centers and the work they are presently doing and encourage the establishment of centers in new communities. We need to increase the number of treatment programs designed specifically to deal with problems unique to women. This is especially true in facilities where women are "captive" clients-jails, juvenile courts, mental hospitals, drug and alcohol centers. These programs should thoroughly explore incestuous experiences as a cause for self-destructive behavior.

In general, we need to discuss incest more openly and conduct more research on its incidence, causes, and treatment. The "Silent Sin" is there. It's a matter of doing something about it.

Spencer and Felixson offer counseling every Tuesday evening from 7:00 to 9:00 at the Free Clinic (721-4010) for girls or women who are or have been victims of incest.

--Gall Powers

April, 1979/What She Wants/Page 9