Incest in Middle-Class Indian Families: Learnings from a Support Centre for Adult Women Survivors

The paper is based on the experiences of the RAHI Foundation . The learnings presented are drawn from primarily three different sources: a prevalence study conducted amongst women and entitled 'Voices from the Silent Zone'(1998); in-depth interviews with survivors conducted for RAHI's book 'The House I Grew Up In' (1999) and play '30 Days in September'(2001); and the centre's continuing individual counselling and group work with survivors.

The evidence provided is gathered retrospectively, where the voice of the sexually abused child is that of an adult recalling her experiences of childhood victimisation and describing the impact such experience have had on her life.

The paper establishes the prevalence of incest in middle-class Indian families. It provides an insight into survivors’ definitions and descriptions of their abuse experiences, the relationship they share with their abusers, the ambivalent feelings resulting from such abuse and the impact incest has on their psychological, emotional and sexual development from childhood to adulthood.

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