NCJ Number
104575
Date Published
1985
Length
59 pages
Annotation
Based on the author's own experience in working with incest survivors and family members, the experiences of mothers who have addressed father-daughter incest, the work of rape crisis advocates and therapists, and a review of< incest literature, this manual guides the mothers of father-daughter incest victims in dealing with the incest disclosure and subsequent events.
Abstract
The booklet discusses ways that children have disclosed incest, common reactions of mothers to the disclosure, and helpful coping mechanisms mothers can use during this stressful time. After listing some of the needs of mothers following disclosure, suggestions are offered for taking time to meet personal needs, keeping a record, and finding support. Particular suggestions are oriented toward the battered woman, the lesbian mother, and the mother of a male child victim. Following a chapter on reporting child sexual abuse, other parenting issues discussed include whether it was the child's fault, whether the child needs counseling, jealously toward the daughter, mother-child relations, the effect of incest on other children, and various consequences of the incest. Other issues given major attention in the booklet are incest-related cultural issues faced by mothers of a racial minority; common religious issues associated with incest; and the causes, dynamics, and remedies for incest. 7 suggested readings and a directory of incest services in the United States.