ENEMY ON THE INSIDE

Something To Consider

Nearly 80% of girls and 60% of boys who are sexually victimized are abused by someone known to the child or the child's family.
Most incest perpetrators are not pedophiles (a psychiatric term that implies a sexual/mental disorder). The majority of those who sexually abuse children are not exclusively "attracted" to children; they choose children because they are vulnerable and easier to control. Some view the children they abuse as "property."
While many first-time perpetrators say they will never do it again, a vast majority do repeat the abuse. Their primary reason for doing it again: "We got away with it the first time."
Most incest perpetrators also sexually abuse children outside their own family, i.e., children in the families of friends and neighbors; 25% of those who sexually abuse children commit offenses against family and non-family members. One-fifth perpetrate against both sexes.
46% of child sex offenders said they did not seek help because there was no help available.
20 to 50% of adolescent boys who commit sexual abuse on younger children are themselves victims of sexual abuse. Most of them discounted the abuse in their own lives.
Rates of repeat offending for different sex offenders: incest perpetrators (4-10%), non-familial child molesters against girl children (10-29%), non-familial child molesters against boy children (13-40%), adult rapists (7-35%). Many incest perpetrators want to find ways to stop abusing.

Those who perpetrate incestuous sexual abuse are our own. They come from within our families, our social circles, and spheres of trust. When they betray the children we know, they betray us. An inside look at the perpetration of this abuse, at how and why it is committed, will confront why so many victim prevention strategies fail. It will help protect the children we love from becoming victims and prevent the children we know from becoming perpetrators.

In 2000, SHaKTI PRODUCTIONS released its documentary, The Children We Sacrifice which was about survivors of incestuous sexual abuse in South Asian communities. At community screenings and workshops, two questions surfaced repeatedly:

What about those who commit incest?
Why don't you also do something about perpetrators?

In response to the challenge, SHaKTI PRODUCTIONS has begun a cross-cultural project, Enemy On The Inside This project will explore if incestuous sexual abuse occurs because of socialization more so than individual psychopathology. It will examine why something so taboo in many cultures is also frequently minimized when it happens, and why something so damaging to victims is under-reported. Read more in the Project Synopsis.

Enemy On The Inside will involve:

the production of a 60-minute video documentary,
the creation of an educational guide on CD-ROM, and
a two-year campaign to educate communities about preventing the perpetration of incestuous sexual abuse. This campaign will bring together mental health experts, incest survivors, activists, community educators and organizers, and sex offender re-education professionals.

There are many ways you can support or participate in this project. To find out more, contact:

Grace Poore
Director and Project Coordinator
SHaKTI PRODUCTIONS
Email: shaktivideo @ gmail.com

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