Has anyone out there ever stopped to consider how 'yucky' it makes us feel to hear, speak, or even read the word 'incest'? There is a good reason for that. The latin root words that make up the english word 'incest' mean "unchaste" or "defiled." No one wants to make an abused child feel that way, no one that is, except the perpetrator. He uses the child's shame to silence her (or him).
If we can help victims of intra-famiy child sexual abuse (I-CSA) tell their stories by making a linguistic change--I believe we will consider it worth the effort to X the word incest out of our vocabulary!
When we consider that 3-to 5% of children in the U.S. expereince ADHD and we have an acronym for the lenghty term that best describes their challenges, it should be a welcome task for professionals and the general populace alike to change the term 'incest' to I-CDS (Intra-famiy child sexual abuse). Let's get the word out--let's let our voice be heard for child victims of I-CDS.
