Search Results (4)

In the medieval to early modern eras, legal manuals used visual cues to help teach the church laws of consanguinity and affinity as well as concepts of inheritance. Visual aids such as the trees of consanguinity or affinity helped the viewer such as a notary, law student or member of the clergy to do the ‘computation,’ or reckon how closely kin were related to each other by blood or by marriage and by lines of descent or collateral relations. Printed riddles in these early legal manuals were exercises to test how well the reader could calculate whether a marriage should be deemed incest. The riddles moved from legal textbooks into visual culture in the form of paintings and cheap broadside prints. This article examines a riddle painting ‘devoted’ to William Cecil when he was Elizabeth I’s principal secretary, before he became Lord Burghley and explores the painting’s links to the Dutch and Flemish kinship riddles circulating in the Low Countries in manuscript, print and painting. Cecil had a keen interest in genealogies and pedigrees as well as puzzles and ciphers. As a remarried widower with an eldest son from a first marriage and children from his longer second marriage, Cecil lived in a stepfamily typical of the sixteenth century in England and Europe. The visual kinship riddles in England and the Low Countries had a common root but branched into separate traditions. A shared element was the young woman at the centre of the images. To solve the riddle the viewer needed to determine how all the men in the painting were related to her as if she were the ego, or self, at the centre of a consanguinity tree. This article seeks to compare the elements that connect and diverge in the visual kinship riddle traditions of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in the Low Countries and England. Full article

Background: Incest is a form of sexual activity that occurs within family or kinship systems. It is prohibited by religion and law in most countries as well as by social mores or taboos. Data from various parts of the world indicate, however, that it appears to be a relatively common event, although there is reason to believe that the actual frequency is unknown. Most available data focus upon children as victims, although we note that incest also occurs between adult family members. Methods: A systematic review was performed using PRISMA guidelines. With a focus upon India, the search tools of Academic Search Complete, Google Scholar and PUBMED were used to identify articles that legally defined incest; frequency; barriers to disclosure; the dynamics of incest and social norms. Results: The available data were very limited, making a systematic review unachievable within the narrow confines of incest. Conclusions: The literature is sparse. This led to a discussion of definitional issues; barriers to disclosure; and challenges with measuring the problem of incest and the impact of social norms. Questions of law and efforts at reform were also considered. The article considers what steps might be appropriate. Full article

Background and Objectives: In pregnancies resulting from incest, the adolescent maintains close family and emotional relations with the aggressor, different from what occurs when pregnancy results from sexual violence by strangers. Evidence indicates that this type of relationship with the aggressor may interfere in the dynamics of such violence and the adolescent’s access to health services. Materials and Methods: The objective of this research was to describe and correlate aspects associated with pregnancy when resulting from rape of adolescents in situations of incest; rape when perpetrated by an unknown aggressor and an abortion as allowed by law was sought. Method: A cross-sectional, epidemiological study of adolescents treated at the Pérola Byington Hospital, São Paulo, Brazil, bringing an allegation of pregnancy, resulting from sexual violence and a request for abortion as allowed by law. A total of 311 adolescents, being 134 in the “pregnancy from incest group”, and 174 in the group “pregnancies resulting from rape by a stranger” were considered under the study variables; relationships were investigated using the chi-squared test and Poisson regression with robust variance. Results: The study included 137 cases (44.1%) of pregnancy resulting from incest, and 174 cases (55.9%) of pregnancy from rape by a stranger. In cases of incest, a declaration of religion (92.0%) was significantly more frequent, and the adolescents were approached in spaces considered safe or private (92.7%); the aggressor taking advantage of the adolescent’s legal condition of vulnerability as a function of age (83.3%). Cases of incest presented a lower median adolescent age and greater gestational development, with gestations being ≥ 13 weeks prevailing. Conclusion: Cases of pregnancy by incest presented indicators suggesting both proximity and relationship with the aggressor, and pregnancy at a very early age, which postponed the adolescent’s procurement of health service, and interfered negatively with abortion assistance as allowed by law. Full article

I examine and challenge the view, expressed by some literary theorists, that writings about trauma should be read and taught differently from other writings because these reflect a desire to heal with the support of a community of readers. I explore some poems about incest, including my own, and the expressed intentions and intellectual processes of the authors. I argue that framing these writings as healing narratives misconceives the writers as healers. I address some challenges in teaching incest narratives and strategies that can help ensure the inclusion of student incest survivors and, generally, student survivors of chronic childhood trauma. While some scholars have emphasized the importance of instructors providing trigger warnings when assigning material about trauma, students of chronic childhood trauma can be triggered by wide-ranging material. I emphasize that these students need to be recognized as a minority group facing disadvantages and discrimination, and discuss how educational institutes and campus services could be improved to better meet their needs. Further, I elaborate how survivor-inclusive pedagogy gives a central place in diverse curricula to first-person narratives and experiences of survivors. Finally, I note some encouraging developments in the fields of psychology and law and make some recommendations. Full article