More incest victims speak out
Despite increased awareness, it's no new problem
By Julie Shippen
Of the Emerald
Incest, a problem that has
gained national attention
recently, is no new social pro
blem — it's been around as long
as our society.
"Incest has always existed — it
appears in whatever ancient
religious book you look in,"
says Pat Loewinger, coordinator
of the incest treatment program
at Lane County Children Ser
vices. "It was even an accepted
part of society for awhile, and
later, when it became taboo,
people still knew it went on."
What has changed in the past
10 years is the frequency of in
cest reports, Loewinger says.
"People didn't report it years
ago, but it still occurred. But
over the last 10 years there has
been a gradual increase (in
reporting cases) nationwide,"
she says.
Loewinger attributes the
growing number of reports to
the public's increased will
ingness to deal with incest.
Coverage of the problem on TV
shows like "Donahue" creates
community, awareness and
discussion, making it easier for
victims to speak up, she says.
Many people affected by in
cest came forward after the na
tional broadcasting of
"Something About Emilia," a
made for television movie about
a girl who is sexually molested
by her biological father. Though
the movie's night-time showing
was effective in reaching
women who had been victims of
incest in the past, an after
school airing of the program
could uncover some current
cases, Loewinger says.
me present number of incest
cases is significant.
"It's a big problem," she says.
"An estimated one-third to one
half of all women experience
some kind of sexual harass
ment by the age of 18. It's a very
rare female that hasn't ex
perienced some sort of sexual
abuse."
Also, the number of cases of
boys who are incest victims is
higher than previously
estimated, Loewinger says.
"It's estimated that every one
in six males is assaulted," she
says. Male victims experience
the added fear of being
homosexual. Although these
fears are ungrounded, they are
enough to keep boys from
revealing the abuse, Loewinger
says.
In Lane County, there are
presently more than 100
reported cases of childhood in
cest, she says. The number of
reports is even higher in
Douglas and other counties
where the punitive punishment
is relatively minor and treat
ment programs are emphasized,
Loewinger says.
"Treatment is felt to take at
least two years of intensive
treatment, both group and in
dividual," Loewinger says.
Therapy never really ends,
however. Therapy is designed to
correct what are called "think
ing errors" on the part of the of
fender, Loewinger says. Errors
result when offenders see their
own needs as more significant
than other people's, even those
of their own family. They can
then justify their wrong actions.
Incest is usually considered as
sexual intercourse between
blood relatives. "We define it
much more loosely than that,
however," Loewinger says.
Photo by Polly Kaplan
Incest has been a social problem for many years, says Rat Loew
inger, but the public's increased willingness to deal with the
problem has increased the number of reported incest cases in
recent years.
About 25 percent of incest of
fenders are victims' natural
fathers, another 25 percent are
step-fathers and the remainder
fall into the "miscellaneous
relatives" category, Loewinger
says.
Step-relatives, neighbors,
family friends or babysitters are
some of the other possible of
fenders, she says. The majority
of victims are abused by so
meone they know — not by
strangers.
It's understandably easier for
a victim to report the case when
the offender is a step-father or
neighbor and undeniably more
difficult when the offender is
her own father, she says.
"In general...99 percent of
them (offenders) are men, and
this is pretty much true for all
sexual offenses," Loewinger
says. There are a few cases of
women molesting young males,
but usually a male co-hort is in
volved such incidents, she says.
Sexual abuse occurs in
families from all socio-economic
backgrounds, not just the
lower-class. Religion also plays a
role in the problem.
“There is a higher percentage
in our program that are
religious," Loewinger says.
"People seem to think that's a
protection."
And the encouragement of
sexual repression by more strict
religions can lead to deviant
behavior instead of controlling
it, she says.
Victims have more places than
ever to turn to today, Loewinger
says. In Eugene, the Rape Crisis
Network offers free group ses
sions and Christian Family Ser
vices offers group sessions on a
sliding scale. Steve Schweitzer
at the DeBusk Memorial Center
holds a group session for
adolescent boys, and Lane
County Children's Sevices has a
"Promise Club" group for
children between the ages of
three and twelve.
For more information on the
treatment of incest, contact
Loewinger at 686-7810.
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