© British Association of Social Workers
Betrayal of Trust: A Feminist Analysis of Power Relationships in Incest Abuse and its Relevance for Social Work Practice
Lena Dominelli teaches social work and social policy at the University of Warwick. She has been a practitioner in community work, social services and probation settings. Her major publications include: Community Action: Organising Marginalised Groups (1982); Women in Focus: Community Service Orders and Female Offenders (1983); Love and Wages (1986); Anti-Racist Social Work (1988); and Feminist Social Work (1989).
Correspondence to Dr Lena Dominelli, Department of Applied Social Studies, The University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL.
Summary
Feminist analyses of incest have revealed that this is a highly prevalent form of sexual abuse which is perpetrated primarily by male assailants against young girls. Feminists have focused on incest as the expression of unequal power relations within the family, and demonstrated that it is more than the genital penetration of a young girl by her father or step-father. This paper examines incest from a feminist perspective and highlights the significance for the incest victim/survivor of the abuse of power taking place within intimate ‘family’ relationships. This abuse of power cannot be seen as anything other than a betrayal of trust which undermines the young girl's view of herself as a sexual being and reinforces her feelings of powerlessness and subordination. These feelings are very difficult to overcome even after disclosure, though dealing with them provides a cornerstone for feminist work with incest victims/survivors. Moreover, work feminists have already undertaken in this area holds significant lessons for practitioners wishing to improve their practice with those experiencing incest abuse.
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