Özet:

This paper is based on a qualitative research entitled “Understanding the Problem of Incest in Turkey” (2009) and conducted in Adana, Ankara, Diyarbakır, Erzurum, İstanbul, and Kocaeli by semi-structured interviews with 98 professionals from different disciplines working for institutions that might be approached by incest survivors. Experts describe incest an iceberg of which only a small portion is visible. Incest victims may be girls and boys of all ages. The abuse in incest usually begins with acts of molestation involving touching and fondling. Some cases continue with such acts for a long time, while others involve escalating molestation that might end in anal and vaginal rape. Perpetrators usually male figures of authority generally fathers followed by grandfathers, brothers, uncles and other older-age male relatives. Incest offenders have no typical socio-economic background. The findings indicate that incest might take place in all forms of family structures. The main obstacles in revealing incest are child's inability to word abuse, offenders physical and emotional threats, social pressures, and society's and institutions' tendency to protect family rather than individuals.

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