Incest is the worst form of Sexual abuse.

The word "Incest" and its possibilities in our society, may be alien to some ears but the "act" in itself is not. Incest is the worst form of sexual abuse because the trust of a child gets violated and its never easy for that child to ever gain that trust back. To prevent child sexual abuse, click here to know the process before or when it all starts. 

"in the first four months of 2003, 39 cases of incest were reported and only eleven were dealt with in the courts, seven out of eleven accused were acquitted by the courts due to a lack of evidence. In 36.6 % of cases, the father was accused, in 10.8% of cases stepfathers, in 6.8% cases grandfathers, in 15.10% cases paternal or maternal uncles and in 11.9% cases other relatives"

The very first step towards the solution of the problem is 'identification' of the problem. Statistics shared here or outdated and I believe do not cover the magnitude of the problem as these statistics are based on the cases that are reported only. Furthermore, the statistics have no details on (who, why, and how these cases were reported) which could have helped in understanding the rationale and logic behind it. 

 

No doubt, there are many cases that go unreported, and thus, they never come into the count. We normally live with the satisfaction that our children are safe and secure. Good if it is like that, but what if we as elders/guardians/parents are wrong? (know about early signs of abuse)

We cannot ignore the possibility of incest even in the best of the situation where children are properly monitored. The reason that children still fall prey to abuse of this kind is that normally parents are not sensitized/educated about these issues, and that is why in most cases parents do hush up their children even if the child somehow finds the guts to report it. 

 

We have to understand here that to report an incident of this nature is not a small thing for the unfortunate child itself. 

 

This child has to conquer a plethora of personal and social barriers to speak about abuse, leave alone an abuse inflicted by someone from within the family. It also is not easy for the family to take the news well, and the child is aware of this. It never happens without trust and this trust can never be built in days- it takes time. A child reporting an incident of this nature or showing signs (to be discussed later) that he or she expects to be understood by parents is an ideal situation. 

 

Normally, an abuser would make sure he/she makes it hard for the child to speak or show signs of abuse. Usually, it involves a lot of emotional abuse and blackmailing. Due importance should be given to the reported or expressed incident as this is something the child is expecting from you at this stage. 

 

Due to our personal barriers and ignorance our children do suffer big time, and it's not a one-time suffering-they carry this bag with them throughout their lives. Data collected from Pakistan (2008-2018) shows that in 36.6 % of cases the father was accused, in 10.8% of cases stepfathers, in 6.8% cases grandfathers, in 15.10% cases paternal or maternal uncles and in 11.9% cases other relatives.

"The majority of the cases of incest have been reported from Punjab (87 cases-77%; 18 cases (16%) from Sindh; 5 cases from NWFP the now KPK (4.5%) and 3 cases from Balochistan (2.5%)"