1

Plan Of Investigation

The Topic “The Effects Of Incest On a Child”,was derived from the theme “Family”.I
chose this topic because of the number of children that experienced this issue and I
would like to spread awareness of the betrayal of relatives and the feeling of depression
which leads to the incest of a child.
Secondly, I plan on learning more about sentence fragments and avoid using them
and my grammar which will help me to put together effective paragraphs properly. In
order to get my artifacts I intend to use articles from the internet and pictures from
books in the library.Additionally, I will examine the artifacts by
inspecting the writer’s message for the readers.
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Artifact 1

Website:
Link:https://digilib.phil.muni.cz/sites/default/files/pdf/111271.pdf

INCESTUOUS CHILD ABUSE IN SOCIAL RESEARCH

Due to its "marginal" character, child sexual abuse in Czechoslovakia has hardly been
paid attention both by the general public and professionals. In the early eighties it came
into prominence thanks to alarming conclusions and the studies performed in West
European countries. Four types of child abuse are distinguished by social paediatry and
child psychology : 1. Physical maltreatment and abuse — the most common and easiest
to detect offense. 2. Child neglect. This type of child abuse is not as evident. It means
refusing the child his/her essential necessaries (nurture and clothing). 3. The third type
includes psychological child abuse comprising psychical constraint and extortion by an
adult in order to attain the adult's goals and ambitions. 4. The fourth type of child abuse,
concealed by a barrier of silence, is incestuous child abuse or abuse by non-immediate
family members who have contact with the child. Sexual child abuse within the family is
one of the social problems the least visible to society. Some experts believe it to be
particularly perilous, because its devastating psychical consequences can exist for a long
time after the psychical trauma has faded away. Experts have shown in a number of
studies that sexually abused children tend to become abusive parents causing thus much
harm to all those affected by this vicious circle. The largest number of reported cases of
child abuse is known in Germany, followed by England and the United States. In
England, the drastic growth in the number of children diagnosed by pediatricians as
sexually abused has led to the extensive investigations by Butler-Sloss (1988). The study
has shown sexual abuse to be common among children of any age, most frequently
affecting both girls and boys aged 9 to 10 within all social classes of society. Child abuse
also occurs within the family, frequently with the stepfather in the role of the offender.
The paper by Gordon and Creighton (1988) investigating the types of abusers has
reached the conclusion that the most at risk of being sexually abused are children of
single mothers who lived with a boyfriend during a short period of time. Children living
with a stepfather in a common household are somewhat less at risk, because having
married the children's mother appears to lead the stepfather to a greater commitment to
the father role.

These studies also bear evidence that sexual abuse is by far not only the problem of
pubescent children — 71% of the children were first abused before they reached 11 years
of age (NSH 1991). In Czechoslovakia, the number of detected cases of child abuse is
small, however, experts suppose that similarly as in western Europe, about 1 to 10% of
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the child population have experienced sexual abuse. Zvefina (1991) even believes that up
to one-fourth of the girls and up to one-fifth of the boys experienced sexual abuse during
their childhood and adolescence. However, these facts have hardly ever been reported
and investigated. About some four-fifths of the cases are thought to have remained
unpunished. In Czechoslovakia, sexual child and teenager abuse is prosecuted in
conformance with §§ 142, 143 and 145 of the Penal Code. For the sexual abuse of a child
younger than 15 the offender can be sentenced to prison for a period from 2 to 8 years.
Incestuous relations have been the object of scientific investigations since the thirties of
this century. The studies dealing with incestuous families emphasized the abuser's
personality and also the criminogenic factors of such relations. The surveys were based
upon empirical material obtained by medical, forensic and psychiatric investigations.
The conclusions reached by the classical studies on incest and the attempts to explain
this phenomenon were divided by Maisch (1968) into two basic groups: — Biologically
orieted attempts to give theoretical explanations of incest behaviour. They emphasized
anomalous biological characteristics, the offender's diseases and his proclivity to incest
behaviour characterized by lacking intelligence, hypersexuality, etc. — A group of
theories oriented towards factors related to the social environment including inadequate
housing conditions, poverty, alcohol and its motivating effect, social consequences of
living without a wife, etc. Certain problems may be brought about by the notions used in
incest behaviour investigations. Terms such as victim and offender have commonly been
used even if they are somewhat misleading due to their moralizing connotation. The
surveys we are reviewing use them on principle in a neutral sense. Incest means sexual
intercourse between blood relatives, while pseudoincest is the sexual abuse of the child
by a father-substitute. Paternal incests are among the most frequent, whereas siblings'
incests are less common and maternal incest is considered to occur exceptionally. One
of the most extensive surveys dealing with paternal incest is that by Riemer and
Weinberger (in Gromova 1985). They have found this type of incest to prevail in families
subjected to destructive changes, the offenders being natal fathers aged about 40.

At that age the incest risk is increased because the daughter is growing up and
becoming attractive to the father. Usually the first-born daughter is his first incest
partner, but cases of "incest relays" have also been known. The duration of this
relation can range from a single incident to repeated acts over a long period of time
bringing about a positive emotional bond. Some authors relate incest experience to the
subsequent deviant socialization of the daughter. Later in life deviant socialization may
show up as prostitution or prevent the girl from forming an ordinary partnership. Other
authors, however, point to a group of girls abused by natal fathers who do not display
traumatic consequences but undergo normal socialization. The potential consequences
to girls subject to incest can be divided into four groups: 1. Promiscuous sexual relations
when adult 2. Neurotic behavior when adult 3. Frigidity when adult 4. No pathological
changes when adult. Most frequently long-lasting incestuous lead to subsequent
 4

promiscuous sexual relations, but they can as well result in the normal behaviour of the
girl with the absence of pathological changes. In many cases it may be the daughter who
initiates long-lasting incestuous relations. The incest consequence depend upon the
daughter's response to this relation. Some psychiatrists (Lempp 1967) regard the
daughter's emotional bond to the natal father as psychically innocuous, even though,
later in life, problems with mate selection may arise. It is well-known that disclosed
incestuous families come from the lowest social classes with a low standard of living.
However, this disclosure can be due to the discrimination of certain classes and by the
fact that there are more cases of delinquency within them than are in other classes.
Concealed incests in families of higher social standing present a far more serious
problem. The maternal incest ist the least frequent (or the most hidden) type of abuse.
Two cases were described in the literature; a psychotic disease of the son was diagnosed
in both of them. The small number of detected cases does not allow the risk factors
leading to this relation to be generalized. We can but point to some supporting factors
such as toleration of the act by the mother, the son's incapability to find a sexual partner
outside the family, loss of self-control due to intoxication or a psychical disease. In
siblings' incests between young children commonly infantile actions are concerned,
later-on they frequently copy the adults' sexual life. Some authors regard siblings'
incests as a common stage of sexual development, mostly of short duration. In the
studies dealing with siblings' incests, frequently rape and aggressive enforcement of
intercourse by the brother, positive erotic and sexual bonding between siblings, the
incest relays father-son and older brother-younger brother were described. An
interesting conclusion was reached by Lustig (1966).

He suggests that incest may protect and maintain the disturbed family structure by
making the daughter occupy the mother's place, i. e. play the principal 66 T.TTTA M A
NEBUDOVA female role. This puts an end to sexual intolerance or to the father's sexual
tension caused by his wife's emotional distance. The father is not able to find a sexual
partner outside the family and thus the mother unconsciously pushes the daughter to an
affair with her father. For fear of a potential family breakdown all family members keep
silent, participating thus in a pathological auto remedial process in order to maintain
the family. The author of another study (Wiederholt 1980) bases his theory on the fact
that the father can frequently succumb to inviting signals from his daughter and to
conscious or unconscious approval by the mother. The author distinguishes two types of
incestuous families: — The dependent, sexually frustrated husband first takes recourse
to alcohol and, later-one, lest the family should break down, starts an incest with his
daughter. In this instance his wife has to take over the protective mother role as regards
her husband. In this case the father maintains mere sexual relations with his daughter
with no bond of love. — The second type of the father-daughter incest presupposes a
strong love bond between them. There the father is mainly motivated by his desire for
independence and his awareness of his wife's unattractive looks. He replaces his wife
 5

with his daughter who, by her manners and phenotype, resembles her mother when the
latter began her liaison with her present husband. The aging father wishes to enjoy once
more the past romantic love affair. In Czechoslovakia, incest problems were investigated
a. o. by Mellan, PondelniCkova, Hubalek, Topiaf and Satkova. Hubalek (1984), who
described 50 reported cases of father-daughter incest, found the offenders to be
middle-aged men of rather low education level. They had been socialized under highly
adverse social conditions; the whole group was characterized by heavy drinking and
criminal records. The average age of the daughters abused was 13 and in 50% of the
cases the relation was a long-lasting one. Hubalek pointed to the considerable latency of
incestuous behavior; most of the cases were disclosed many years later when the
second-born daughter was sexually abused. The study by Maisch (1968) is the most
frequently quoted paper devoted to incestuous behavior. It comprises 78 incest cases
heard by German law-cours in the sixties. The author gives the characteristics of the
offenders, victims and the motives of the incest. Twenty years later, a similar goal was
pursued by Tufikova (1989). As to the number of cases investigated, her paper is the
most extensive Czech survey describing 145 cases of sexual abuse examined by the police
and prosecuted in conformance with §§ 142, 143 and 145 of the Czechoslovak Penal
Code.
The two — independent of each other — studies by Maisch and Tuckova pay prime
attention to the offender. They state that incests are committed by middle-aged men
whereas sexual acts of violence more likely by younger men. The abusers are almost
always males; female offenders amounted to 3% in the Czech survey and no abuses by
females were found in the German study. The majority of the Czech perpetra-
INCESTUOUS CHILD ABUSE IN SOCIAL RESEARCH 67 tors were found to be of
average intellect, every fourth male revealed slightly subaverage intellect and mental
backwardness was stated for 15% °f the offenders. The results of the German survey did
not correspond to the fixed stereotype of a mentally retarded, primitive offender
showing increased sexual desire. Typical of the abusers in Germany and Czechoslovakia
are average intelligence and average (more or less regular) family caregiving, though a
certain degree of the offenders' alcoholism was found by both surveys. Incest cannot be
related to deviant individuals, but more likely to inconspicuous people lacking psychotic
symptoms. U. S. investigations have even found that incestuous fathers and
homosexuals showed the highest intelligence within the group of sexually abusive
persons. According to the German and Czech investigations, the offenders are
characterized by increased aggressivity, proclivity towards drinking and, some of them
by inadequate working habits. A considerable percentage of the offenders were with
criminal records. The Czech survey also noted the personal views of the abusers: 40% of
them admitted the criminal liability and amoral nature of their offense, 28% of them
admitted it partly and 33% of them fully denied their guilt. Out of the 145 victims of the
Czech sample 88% were girls and 12% were boys. Half of the cases were the classical
father-daughter incest, a quarter of them the stepfather-stepdaughter pseudoincest and
 6

the remainder were abuse by relatives or siblings. 80% of the Czech and 70% of the
German cases were characterized as long-lasting incestuous relations. Incest acts
committed over a long period of time are a well-known fact reported by a number of
authors. The conclusions of the two surveys did not agree with the general view
according to which incests are thought to occur in very low-prestige social classes.
Three-quarters of the Czech incestuous families fell into the group displaying the
average Czechoslovak standard of living; standard conditions of life were also found for
the majority of the families investigated by the German survey. In Czechoslovakia, the
most frequently abused children were those aged from 6 to 12 and a high percentage
were also in the group aged 12 to 15. The mean age of the German child was 12,5 and
two-thirds of the abused German girls were from 10 to 16 years in age. Similar results
were also found by surveys made in Sweden and in the U. S. A.
significant difference between the Czech and the German groups consisted in the type
of sexual abuse. In Germany, the most frequent type of abuse was sexual intercourse,
non-genital forms were rare.
70% of the incests were coition; oral penetration was difficult to assess being a taboo
both to the victim and the offender, since it was regarded as perverse by German society
in the sixties. In the Czech sample sexual intercourse was evidenced in a quarter of the
cases; according to verbal testimony the sexual abuse was confined to other ways of
sexual activity. In Germany or Czechoslovakia the social reality shows no conformance
with the stereotype image of the dull girl abused by her father. Nearly all of the abused
German girls attended primary school, only 3% of the 68 LIL1ANA NERUDOVA
German and 15% of the Czech abused girls attended special schools for the educationally
subnormal. Almost 70% of the Czech girls were, by their intellect, within the average
range of the Czech population, mostly rated by their teachers as average pupils showing
no significant educational sways. Two-thirds of the German girls passed through the
primary school without repeating a year, one third of them showed a performance so
low that they had to repeat a class at least once. Psychometric tests rated three-thirds of
the German girls as inconspicuous, not attracting attention by their conduct.
Independently of each other the two surveys reached the conclusion that the "victims"
could not be characterized by low intelligence and low success rates at school; the
majority of them were inconspicuous girls of average intelligence. Most frequently the
incests were motivated by disturbed emotional bonds between the spouses and
insufficient sexual partnership. The immediate influence of the wife was of importance
in those cases when she tolerated the relation in silence becoming thus an active
accomplice. When examining the Czech sample it came to light that about a third of the
mothers had suspected the incest or had ignored it for some reasons. In case the whole
affair was kept as a family secret, the father's offense became evident only after it had
been reported by the abused girl. Only one-fifth of the incest were reported by the
mother after her daughter had confided the matter to her. Both the German and Czech
girls supported the incest acts for fear of the father's aggressivity and the breakdown of
 7

the family. The German paper by Maisch distinguisch.es two types of the girls' behavior:
1. Passivity — the girls only suffered the abuse being mainly influenced by motives such
as fright of the father, a sense of shame, emotional dependence and ignorance of their
rights. 2. Encouraging provocative conduct — here a major role is attributed to motives
such as sexual desire, material advantages, the Oedipus complex,

fear of loosing the father, secrecy because the father was a good provider for the whole
family. As stated by Maisch, one-third of the girls did not oppose their incestuous abuse.
Similar motives were revealed by analyzing the Czech sample: one-third of the girls did
not tell or refused to tell the motives of their consent.The emotional bond with the
father, sexual desire or rivalry with respect to the mother may have played significant
roles in these cases. The other two-thirds of the German and Czech girls submitted to
the father's will for fear of violence or because the incestual abuse left them
unconcerned on the whole. Within the European culture, incest is regarded as a deviant
phenomenon that demands increased medical and social care. The two surveys have
revealed, however, that the main incest risk is not health injury — in the Czech
environment hospitalisation was necessary only for 7% of the cases, three-fourths of the
girls continued to stay with their families, a minor number left the home for reasons
connected with vocational training. Of substantial significance is the fact that the
families in question are given up as socially lost for their neighbors. INCESTUOUS
CHILD ABUSE IN SOCIAL RESEARCH 69 In terms of anthropology, the incest taboo
forms part of the cultural history of mankind. The moderateness and confusion
characteristic of the punitive measures reflect the doubts inherent in the official
attitudes and cultural relationships, because incests have been detected not only in the
case of pathological individuals but also for people of socially inconspicuous behavior.
The investigations have shown that incests occurmore likely in disharmonious families.
For this reason, frequently the incest is not the cause but the symptom of unstable
family relationships. Thus the best prevention should be a complete harmonious family
and informing the children about the risk of being sexually abused. An incest is
"deviant" because it breaks the incest taboo of society. Rarely can it be considered to be
a perverse act; it can cover a range from an indifferent relation to emotional partnership
and, in the latter case, it can go on without conflicts and psychotic consequences. More
serious than the incest proper are the consequences for the family concerned should this
secret become public: the whole family will be disgraced and discriminated by their
social environmen
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Artifacts 2

Website:Medium.com
Link:https://medium.com/@elektra.porter/beloved-child-a-poem-for-surviv
ors-of-incest-af04d420fe1e

Beloved Child

Beloved child,
did they told you
not to talk to strangers
because a stranger means danger?
Did you learn not
to go with them,
or take sweets from them?

Beloved child,
they were right
but they also concealed
an important fact
namely that
mommies and daddies,
uncles and aunties,
grandmas and grandpas,
brothers and sisters
can also turn into predators.

Beloved child,
it was not your fault
if you talked to them,

went with them

or took sweets from them.
You did because you
trusted them and
because you learnt that danger
 9

only comes from a stranger.

Beloved child,
you might never understand
why they did that.
BUT you are not bad
and you did not provoke it.
Your little skirt wasn’t too short
and your little panties weren’t
too tight.
You were just a child.

Beloved child,
you are not the same anymore.
Your innocence and childhood are gone.
You have a right to be angry
and to act out;
you have a right to feel hurt
and to scream out loud.

Beloved child,
maybe you can remember,
maybe you can’t.
Either way,
you’ve been severely harmed.
Your privacy was invaded,
your reality became shaded.
Your boundaries were crossed,
your little soul got shattered and lost.
There is nothing that can ever
make up for your loss.
 10

Beloved child,
I wish I could have been
your savior who
you wished upon,
who you hoped
is going to come.
But there was none.

Beloved child,
I wish that God had spared you,
and I myself try to figure out
why some have to endure
so much suffering
while others have
such an easy living.

Beloved child,
I think about you tonight
when I lie in bed
and also wish
those horrible things
had never happened.
 11

Artifacts 3

“ Daddy Issues” by Queen Ifrica

This song was written by Queen Ifrica Queen Ifrica - Daddy December 3,2007 This
article relates to the child being sexually abused by their father.
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Reflection 1

The poem “Beloved Child” done by Elektra Porter was from medium.com.The line
“Beloved child,they were right but they also concealed an important fact namely that
close relatives can also turn into predators,”was retrieved and indicates that even
though you are related to an individual they can be the same person that turn there back
on you to have a sexual affair.The important fact is that relatives can sometimes become
predators.After reading this poem it had lead me to find it hard to trust people because
of how young children my age are being sexually abused .The data retrieved has made
me feel inspired to help children who are willing to get help for the various insecurities
and effects they face as a result to incest. Nothing is more terrible than seeing a child
being depressed,having suicide thoughts and engaging in drug abuse because of being a
victim of sexually abused by a family member .
Artefact two “Daddy Issues” by Queen Ifrica talks about the impact of the neglectful
and abusive father on his daughter.It explores the emotional struggles and issues that
can arise from not having a productive and caring father figure in one's life.Which can
lead to the daughter being forced to have an sexual affair with her father.Therefor,she
then finds it complicated to talk to her mother about the issue .This also song
emphasizes the importance of the positive male role model and the need for healing and
understanding in these situations. This song retrieved had made me realize that this
same situation has happened before in reality to other children and may be experiencing
challenges because of such acts.
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Reflection 2

Artifact one entitled,”Beloved Child”,by Elektra Porter indicates many ways of

children being assaulted by close relatives.The language technique identified in this
artifact is rhetorical questions.Rhetorical questions helped me to better understand the
poem in artifact one which means it helped me to obtain the information the question
asked.According to artifact one, the line “Beloved child,did they tell you not to talk to
strangers because a stranger means danger?”can be identify as a rhetorical question
asked which was later on discussed in the artifact.
In artifact two entitled,“ Daddy Issues” by Queen Ifrica reviews a young girl being
sexually assaulted by her father.This song uses Simile which compares the father to a
creature which informs that she was being forced to do uncertain things she did not
want to do.
In artifact one the use of rhetorical questions in article helped to better understand
my topic as it emphasizes the idea thus making me understand more.It also allowed me
to focus more and considering the question and how it relates with the topic being
used.While,the simile provided more clarity and context while reading the article as the
descriptive language was being used to convey the idea instead of stating it as a fact
 14

Reflection 3

During the writing of this assignment it was a complicated task.However, doing this
topic allowed me to be more cautious with who am surrounded by.I learned that loving
and appreciating myself better than anyone can make me a better
person.Therefore,doing this topic taught me to be patient and to be more
concentrated.Working in groups as a student can be a challenging experience but
working with my group members thought me to be more independent.My teammates
and I learned how to communicate and cooperate with each other .
Secondly,throughout this SBA the topic ‘Effects of Incests on a Child’ have educated
me to pay close attention to who I communicate with at home and school and has
helped me with being more self aware.This SBA also helped me to improve my
vocabulary development which helps me in using the correct words , spelling and
pronunciation.When working on this SBA with my teammates my vocabulary
development were used so that my teammates could understand me through my writing
skills.
Lastly,this SBA helped me to get a clear understanding and to be more confident.
Additionally, I learned that if this happens to a child they should share their experience
with an adult that they feel close with which will help them with their trauma.
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Written Report
 16

Outline of Oral Presentation

Theme

➔ Family

Topic

➔ The Effects of Incest on a Child

Three (3)Points

➔ Emotional Trauma
➔ Psychological Impact
➔ Physical Consequences
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Reference

Artifact 1
● https://digilib.phil.muni.cz/sites/default/files/pdf/111271.pdf

Artifact 2
● https://medium.com/@elektra.porter/beloved-child-a-poem-for-survivors-of-in
cest-af04d420fe1e

Artifact 3
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYrXb_KJmEU

Oral Presentation
● https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incest
● https://proceedings.ums.ac.id/index.php/iseth/article/view/2401/2356
 18

Appendix