Physical Environment of the Family in the child sexual abuse

Physical Environment of the Family in the child sexual abuse The most outstanding characteristic of parental sexual abuse is that approximately
99% is perpetrated by fathers or father figures (Finkelhor et al., 1990; Russell, 1983;
Wyatt, 1985). The second most outstanding characteristic is that females are at greatly increased risk of sexual abuse. Indeed, in a study of 1,145 adult men and 1,48 1
women randomly sampled from a national population, not a single male was abused
in childhood by a father or father figure, whereas approximately 25 females were abused (Finkelhor et al., 1990). Further, no males or females were abused by a mother
or mother figure. Racial differences also exist. African American females appear to
be especially vulnerable to stepfather abuse (Wyatt, 1985), a finding that may simply represent their greater likelihood of having a stepfather.
While it is now well known that primarily males abuse primarily females, it is
important to stress the theoretical implications of this finding. A close inspection of
the theories of father-daughter incest indicates that most of these theories are nongendered. As an example, although family systems theory states that dysfunctional
dynamics within the family are causal to incest, it never specifically addresses why
these dysfunctional dynamics manifest in abuse by the father instead of the mother.
What deters mothers in these same dysfunctional families from abusing? That parental
abuse is almost exclusively committed by fathers requires some justification. Yet, the
only theory that does so is feminist theory. This theory proposes that the unequal power structures favoring males explains why parental incest is almost exclusively
committed by fathers.