Friday, January 29, 1982
Page 6
Daily Nebraskan
Groups offer Thelp for incest victim
y Lori Siewcrt
Incest is a problem no one likes to talk about. But it
is a very real problem, and adults who were victims of in
cest as children often have severe emotional troubles.
Helping incest survivors deal with these problems is
the goal of a new support group being formed by coun
selors at Lincoln's Family Services Association. Denise
Daup. a Family Services counselor, said the group will
have its first meeting Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m.
All women who were incest victims are invited to at
tend the meetinu, Daup said. It will be at the Family
Services Association, 1 133 II St. Charge for the group will
be on a sliding scale based on income.
An incest survivors group is needed in Lincoln to help
women cope with unresolved feelings of resentment,
anger, fear and guilt, Daup said. IJcing able to talk with
others who were also incest victims will show group mem
bers "they're not crazy to feel the things they do," she
said.
Women who were victims of incest often arc unable to
form stable relationships, Daup said. They become con
fused about the difference between love and sex. I his
confusion causes some women to become withdrawn and
isolated, while others become sexually promiscuous, she
said.
Long-range problems
Incest survivors also have high rates of alcoholism ami
suicide, Daup said.
Shelley Harnett of Child Protective Services said the
number of sexual abuse cases referred to the agency
increased 30 percent from 1.S0 to llWl ..
Child Protective Services investigates cases of abuse
and neglect from a social work perspective.
In 1)S0, the agency received 54 reports of sexual
abuse, Garnett said. In ll81, it received 71 . The majority
of these reports were about incestuous relationships, she
said. Most of these involved fathers or stepfathers and
their daughters.
Garnett said one reason more cases are being reported
is because people arc becoming more willing to talk
about incest.
"It's becoming more acceptable for a child to admit
what's going on in his family," Garnett said.
Incest in a family takes years to develop and dealing
with the problems it causes can also take years, Garnett
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help, she said.
Relieves isolation .
"It helps victims realie they're not the only ones it s
happened to," she said. .. ,rll,lr ,.
Mary Owen, a counselor and therapist at Child Guid
ance Mental Health Center, said a big problem incest
victims have is being unable to feel worthwhile.
Children who arc incest victims know something
is not right in their families and blame themselves, she
said. This leads to a low self-concept.
"If the self-concept is not worked out at the time the
incest is reported, the self-concept continues to be low,"
Owen said.
Child Guidance has a survivors group for teenagers
who have reported incest, she said. The group at the Fam
ily Services Association is probably the first established
and publicized one for adults.
The increase in incest reports reflects a law requiring
professionals, such as teachers, ministers and doctors,
to report cases of suspected abuse to the police or Child
Protective Services, Owen said.
The rate of incest may also be increasing. During stress
ful limes, the rate of violent crimes often increases, she
said.
Thefts . . .
Continued from Page 1
However, Oppegard said
restitution as such is not
provided according to the
store's policy. The stoic
docs try to replace stolen
textbooks at a discount, he
said .
"It's too bad there's a
few people that get hurt
each semester," Oppegard
said. "The most difficult arc
the personal items that can't
be replaced."
Kubicek agrees.
"It's kind of ironic," he
said, "what with Reagan's
speech on the state of the
union. As soon as my
backpack was taken, I knew
what the state of the union
was.
Kubicek acknowledges
that times are hard econ
omically, and that econ
omics probably has some
thing to do with the back
pack thefts.
Kconomics seems to he
the one point on which
everyone agrees. Similar
sentiments were voiced In
UNL Police and both hook
store managers.
Oppegard and Doris Sims
of the Union Bookstore said
a meeting with UNL Police
is being planned to deal
with the theft problem.
In the meantime, and as
a full-time precaution, stu
dents can reduce then
potential loss by removing
valuables from their back
packs when they have to
leave them. Fey saiu.
"As inconvenient as it
may be, based on the fie
quency (of thefts) we're see
ing, people have to take the
risk (of leaving their back
packs unattended) or take
the backpacks with them "
he said.
Punishment for the theft
of a backpack is based on
the value of the items
stolen.
When the value is $100
or less, it's classified as a
class-two misdemeanor,
which carries a jail sentence
of up to six months, a fine
of up to $1,000 or both,
Fey said.
When the value is be
tween $100 and $300, the
crime is a class-one mis
demeanor. Punishment can
consist of not more than
one year in jail, a fine of up
to $1 ,000 or both, Fey said.
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