Incest

John Karlak ** Incest ** **Legal Definition** A person commits incest if he/she “engages in sexual intercourse with a person he[/she] knows to be, either legitimately or illegitimately: his ancestor or descendant by blood or adoption; or his brother or sister of the whole or half-blood or by adoption; or his stepchild or stepparent, while the marriage creating the relationship exists; or his aunt, uncle, nephew, or niece of the whole or half-blood (uslegal.com, 2011)”. Although the majority of jurisdictions approve the engagement in sexual intercourse and/or cohabitation between first cousins, there are certain areas in the United States that extend their restrictions to these relationships as well. Incest is a crime in all states, regardless of mutual consent by both parties. Incest is often related to sexual abuse/neglect due to the fact that a younger family member is typically subject to the predatory sexual activities of an older relative, although this is not always the case. **Incest throughout History** Citations of incest have been recorded throughout the annals of human history as well as in many forms of ancient mythology. King Arthur, the legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, conceived a child, Mordred, with his sister Morgause. As generations of British royalty practiced inbreeding up to the first-cousin level, genetic predispositions for hemophilia were passed through generations (Ochap, 2004). The Greek gods Zeus and his wife Hera were brother and sister. Egyptian gods Osiris and Iris were both siblings and lovers, and incest was encouraged in Egyptian royal fa milies to safeguard the royal bloodline (King, 2010). In the eyes of Egyptian rulers, they were gods and gods did not procreate with mortals (i.e., anyone outside of the royal hierarchy). Although incest was eventually outlawed, many communities throughout the world still practice various forms of this taboo. Mothers in some Amerindian societies in the Arctic routinely stroke the penises of their sons, although this is considered non-sexual, much akin to breastfeeding (King, 2010). For centuries, inbreeding was unavoidable in Iceland due to its historically small and isolated population. The prominence of incest throughout history can best be summarized in an old Indian proverb, made famous by historian Lloyd DeMause: “For a girl to be a virgin at ten years old, she must have neither brothers, nor cousins, nor fathers” (King, 2010). After the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, the number of incestuous marriages in surrounding areas of Japan increased rapidly, most commonly at the first-cousin level. Studies of next-generation Japanese children that were the product of these marriages showed increases on childhood mortality in the first year of life, and developmental issues were cited as well, most notably the age at which children of incestuous marriages first learned to walk and talk (Ochap, 2004). **Effects of Incest** Victims of incestuous acts are subject to a wide spectrum of physical and psychological defects and related trauma. Because of the close relationship between victim and perpetrator, both relational and betrayal trauma are highly intensified. Relational trauma leads to significant loss of trust in others and increased anger, hurt, and confusion about family relationships and changes in beliefs about the safety of close relationships in general. Betrayal trauma includes the unique hurt associated with violation by those who have a basic obligation and responsibility to protect and the victim (Kluft, 2011). In addition, acts of in cest often lead to traumatic bonding in which one person mistreats another (e.g., with abuse, threats, intimidation, beatings, humiliations, and harassment) but also provides attention and some form of affection. Because of these mixed responses, the victim becomes accustomed to linking mistreatment with a warped form of caring (Kluft, 2011). Other symptoms repeatedly observed in victims of incestuous acts can be grouped into a set of clusters. Among these are emotional incontinence (i.e., an inability to contain distressing effects and the urges that accompany them), affective dysregulation (i.e., the intrusion of strong emotions and/or their suppression), use of addictive substances or activities as a form of dysfunctional self-soothing, sexual dysfunction, reenacting and revictimization behaviors, and failures in relatedness (i.e., efforts to play a pleasing role to others, while at the same time experiencing mistrust/unrealistic trust towards others) (Kluft, 2011). Negative biophysical health effects caused by mating with relatives are due to the expression of rare, recessive harmful genes that are inherited from common ancestors or a single shared ancestor. Although inbreeding can result in perfectly healthy offspring, studies of populations that commonly practice inbreeding have shown increased levels of mortality and morbidity due to a variety of genetic defects (Ochap, 2004). **Brother-Sister Incest** Due to the unique longevity and influential nature of sibling relationships, the impact siblings have on one another has been proven to outweigh many other forms of social interaction a person encounters in their lifetime. This being the case, the unique relationship between siblings stemming from incidences of sibling incest is sometimes regarded as “sexual curiosity”, and is often more accepted by family members when the siblings are at a younger age. Sibling incest is defined as sexual behavior between siblings that is not age appropriate, not transitory and not motivated by developmentally appropriate curiosity (Thompson, 2009). Clinicians have utilized family systems theory in understanding the sibling relationship with regards to acts of brother-sister incest activities and subsequent abuse. According to a literature review on brother-sister incest with implications for group work by Kacie M. Thompson, “The family environment is an interactive, interdependent network in which the behavior of each individual or subsystem modifies the behavior of other individuals or subsystems. This environment is quite intimate, and if the network begins to break down, it often fosters violence (Thompson, 2009)”. Thompson notes that there are some common traits among families that report instances of sibling incest such as high levels of personal, social, and economic stress, substance abuse, and exaggeration of patriarchal norms. When attempting to counsel or engage in any form of social contact with a victim of sibling incest, it is important to take into account the role of past familial experiences with regards to their present state of victimized detachment. **References** //Incest Law & Legal Definition//. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/John%20Karlak/Desktop/CMN%20368/Wiki/Incest%20Law%20&%20Legal%20Definition.htm// // King, Cameron. //The A to Z of Sexual History: Incest//. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/John%20Karlak/Desktop/CMN%20368/Wiki/THE%20A%20TO%20Z%20OF%20SEXUAL%20HISTORY%20%20INCEST%20-%20Viceland%20Today.htm Kluft, Richard P. (January 11, 2011). //Ramifications of Incest//. Retrieved from http://www.searchmedica.com/resource.html?rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychiatrictimes.co%2Fsexualoffenses%2Fcontent%2Farticle%2F10168%2F1776046&q=incest&c=ps&ss=psychTimesLink&p=Convera&fr=true&ds=0&srid=1 Ochap, Eugene. (March 22, 2004). //Inbreeding in Humans//. Retrieved from http://www.as.wvu.edu/~kgarbutt/QuantGen/Gen535_2_2004/Inbreeding_Humans.htm Thompson, K. (2009). Sibling Incest: A Model for Group Practice with Adult Female Victims of Brother–Sister Incest. //Journal of Family Violence//, 24(7), 531-537. doi:10.1007/s10896-009-9251-6 King Arthur image obtained from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_arthur Incest Siblings image obtained from http://heykilter.blogspot.com/2010/08/re-incest-explained.html