A Mother's Nightmare - Incest: A Practical Legal Guide for Parents and Professionals

When parents - usually mothers - try to protect their children from sexual abuse, they can be devastated to find that support from the legal system is not always there. Suspecting their husbands or partners of the abuse, mothers may seek a divorce and custody or, if already divorced, request withdrawal of visitation rights. However, if unable to prove abuse, a mother can be labelled 'hysterical' and her desperate efforts to secure her child's safety may jeopardize her case - and even result i…