Incest involves perceived rewards over-riding risks

Caracci'spainting of Jupiter and Junon, incest of the Gods

Darlene went to school on Monday, and no one knew the secret she had kept for years. Now in high school at a time when other girls plan parties, giggle in groups about a new boyfriend, and share stories about adolescent yearnings, Darlene is left out of those innocent times. That's because her uncle had long ago taken away her girlhood dreams and left her only with fears that her future could never be anything but tragic. That's the pain of incest, but it's only part of the story that is seldom talked or written about that impacts the lives of many children and youth with negative effects that can be lifelong.



In antiquity it was considered natural, and encouraged, for a brother and sister to marry, in order to maintain the bloodline and the pureness of it. Ancient Egyptian royalty considered it important to marry siblings in order to keep the status of the family entrenched. The pattern of parent-child and sibling unions, however, was reserved primarily for royalty, as most cultures now and throughout history considered sexual relations with a close blood relative to be taboo. And even in those Western cultures where royalty did not practice sibling marriage, it was not uncommon for members of royalty to have married cousins, including first cousins.



The royalty of Egypt and of Spain, and other cultures, knew the downside of marrying close relatives but chose to ignore it. Charles I of Spain is a known example of the negative impact of marrying first cousins, as the Hapsburgs habitually had done. He had so many health problems that he had difficulty eating and could not walk until he was eight nor talk until he was four. He was also impotent and of unusually small stature.



Yet despite genetic problems that occurred for hundreds of years as a result of incest, royal families continued the practice for generations in virtually every culture. And the practice of marrying first cousins remains common in a number of countries such as India and Pakistan.



Why did the royals continue to practice incest when the genetic factors began to show disabilities in the offspring, a consequence of this practice? There were risks to marrying close relatives, however there were rewards as well. Some of these rewards are of the type still held dear by cultures that continue the practice of incestuous marriage.



Royalty has tremendous power, and in the minds of many they were like the gods. If the gods married each other, than it was reasonable that the royals would as well. They were apart from others because of their unique station. Incest was also a way of preserving assets in the family and maintaining the family status as well. So the rewards were of the nature to cause incest to be considered right and normal for the royals.



In countries like Pakistan and others where close relatives continue to marry one another, people often know the risks but are willing to assume them to maintain the need to protect assets and family integrity.



There are also subcultures among religious groups and special communities where incest is encouraged. The practice can continue for years, and the results of the abuse create lasting difficulties for generations of a family. These difficulties can be both psychological and physical and are either ignored or dealt with by closeting away the problem people or using them as victims sexually and forcing them to perform the menial tasks other family members don't want to perform.



A startling case in Australia shows the long-term nature of the problem of incest within a family. In fact people were astounded that the incest had been practiced for so long and so extensively in an inte-rgenerational family and that few knew or intervened to help the victims.



Inter-generational incest and child abuse that has dominated the lives of 40 members of one family for decades was uncovered in late 2013 as authorities finally acted on warnings that the children in the family were at risk. 11 children in this New South Wales community of around 2000 people have parents related to each other. And each of these children had suffered years of abuse from brothers, sisters, cousins, fathers, an uncle and a grandfather that took place over four generations.

Authorities had initially learned of the family in 2010 surrounding school attendance. By 2012 the family had been notified of the need to improve conditions for the children. Then in 2013 the children were removed, when the incest was discovered that involved 11 children that were products of sexual liaisons among closely related family members, including an uncle and grandfather. The children had been living in filthy conditions and were involved in sexual experimentation with one another.

Child sexual abuse occurs in all cultures and countries around the world. In most cases the perpetrator is a male, whether the victim is male or female. 30% of the children who have been sexually abused were victims of close family members such as brothers, fathers, uncles and first cousins. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that about 1 in 6 boys and 1 in 4 girls are sexually abused before reaching age 18.

The negative effects from the trauma of sexual abuse can be both physical and psychological. Long-term consequences include vulnerability to sexual acting out, depression, poor self esteem, chronic pain, disassociative behavior, criminality in adulthood and suicide.

When sexual relations occur between an adult and a child, most state laws and of many countries consider this to be child abuse. When it involves a close adult relative and a child it is incest and violates both the laws and taboos in most cultures. It causes pain and suffering, and too often the abuse incurs the kind of hurt that impacts entire families and communities and most of all the children, despite the perceived rewards of the perpetrators.