NCJ Number
93127
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 53 Issue: 2 Dated: (February 1984) Pages: 15-19
Date Published
1984
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Official intervention in a family where incest has occurred should be carefully planned so as not to aggravate the victim's psychological condition or place unnecessary hardship on other innocent family members, and when possible, the offender should be given rehabilitative help while being kept from doing further harm to the victim or the family unit.
Abstract
The psychological effects of incest for the victim are far-reaching, and intervention by the criminal justice and social service systems may compound these effects by having the child testify against a parent and removing the child from the home. If a purely punitive approach is taken with the offender parent, little will be accomplished in the way of rebuilding family relationships, and the family may suffer economic hardship due to the father's incarceration. One successful program, called Parents United, takes an approach of both prosecution and treatment in dealing with incest incidents. Any incest incident requires a report to police, police investigation, arrest, booking, and then release of the father, who is constrained with a no-contact judicial order. He is strongly encouraged to move out of the home temporarily so that the child victim may remain. To enter the treatment program, the father must admit his incest and immediately attend Parents United meetings. He is ordered to start treatment as soon as possible. This later becomes mandatory as part of the court order. The goal is to reconstruct the family unit by obtaining treatment for family members who require it. This objective is usually achieved within 6 months, and then the offender can resume living with the family. The father is not incarcerated unless he does not comply with the court order, while the victim benefits from avoiding the additional trauma of court appearance and testimony against a parent. Recidivism rates indicate that this rehabilitation model is effective. Thirty-four footnotes are provided, and a checklist of indicators of child sexual abuse is included.