This photo is the author at seven years old. I had prayed to God; and He evidently didn’t mean to take me out of my challenging life, as nothing changed. I felt I had no place to turn, no one to help me make sense out of what was happening to me. I knew what was happening was wrong, and I was very angry with God.
Are you an incest survivor too? See the definition at the bottom of the page if you are unsure. Of one thing I am certain: incest is evil. And it occurs within the American family where family rules and the taboo against speaking out keep it quiet. When hidden, the issue cannot be addressed. Like the slave trade, incest is morally wrong and there are consequences: children get badly hurt, adults live smaller lives, and the world is diminished by the losses.
The Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial wall is a powerful way to remember those who gave their lives for us. The wall below is not a memorial, rather a wall of those willing to stand against incest. Please stand with me if you are a survivor or even if you are not but are willing to stand against incest. We can remove the taboo surrounding incest and make it known. Then it can be talked about and solutions found to help both survivors and perpetrators (many of whom are survivors as well).
The following is quoted from my final paper “Coming to Terms with Incest – Adult Survivors” written for Andover Newton Theological School December 3, 2014 to gain my Masters in Theological Studies with a focus on pastoral care.
What is incest? It is illegal in all states of the United States, but laws vary by state regarding what incest is.[1] One definition for it follows:
Incest is "sexual activity between family members and close relatives.[2] This may include sexual activity between people in a consanguineous relationship (blood relations), or related by affinity, such as members of the same household, step relatives, those related by adoption or marriage, or members of the same clan or lineage.[3]...
Incest between an adult and a child is usually considered a form of child sexual abuse[4] and for many years has been the most reported form of incest. Father-daughter and stepfather-stepdaughter incest is the most commonly reported form of adult-child incest, with most of the remaining involving a mother or stepmother."[5]
[1] Christine A. Courtois, Healing The Incest Wound: Adult Survivors in Therapy Second Edition (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2010), 19.
[2] "Incest", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incest (accessed November 19, 2013).
( "Incest". Oxford University Press. 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013 and "Incest". Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). 2009. Retrieved August 27, 2013.)
[3] "Incest", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incest (accessed November 19, 2013).
(Bittles, Alan Holland (2012). Consanguinity in Context. Cambridge University Press. 178-187. ISBN 0521781868. Retrieved August 27, 2013.)
[4] "Incest", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incest (accessed November 19, 2013).
(Decision-making of the District Attorney: Diverting or Prosecuting Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse Offenders, Lorie Fridell, Criminal Justice Policy Review, vol. 4, 1990.)
[5] "Incest", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incest (accessed November 19, 2013).
(Turner, Jeffrey S. (1996). Encyclopedia of Relationships Across the Lifespan. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 92. ISBN 0-313-29576-X.)
