The Secret Trauma: Incest In The Lives Of Girls And Women

by Diana E.H. Russell

The Secret Trauma remains the definitive argument for the overwhelming prevalence of incestuous abuse. Based on findings about San Francisco, the book makes a persuasive case for an epidemic of abuse on a national scale. In her nuanced and sophisticated analysis, Russell carefully explores the complex variables of incestuous abuse: the changing incidence of abuse over time, the severity of th abuse, the victim’s age, factors of class, race, and ethnicity, and long term effects on victims.In a new introduction to the revised edition, Russell takes on the most important issue to arise in the field since the book was originally published in 1986: the serious backlash that followed the outpouring of reports by victims/survivors, and the controversy over false accusations and “false memories.”

Genres: Feminism, Psychology, Nonfiction, Social Science

472 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[April Daniels]

Presented as a "Resource for Further Reading" in both the 1992 and 1993 editions of Paperdolls: Healing from Sexual Abuse in Mormon Neighborhoods.

[Dasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book is not a happy read, it is one of the most informative and well-written books I have read in a while. Russell's wealth of experience and research shows as she breaks apart how incest affects girls and women. She actively discounts many previous assumptions psychologists and others have made about incest, using her new research and feminist critiques.
I would recommend this book to anyone, especially anyone concerned about women's well-being and health. The book does not really discuss why incest perpetrators abuse children, nor does it discuss male victims of incest; Russell tells us that she has other books dealing with those issues (albeit not male victims, as that is not her focus; however, she does not discredit or downplay the seriousness of that abuse).
What I appreciated about Russell is her ability to present the information in an impassioned way. I never felt like she was beating me with her information. She openly admitted when her study was inconclusive, statistically insignificant, merely interesting, or needed more research.
One of the main themes, I'd say, of this book was of the absolute difference in power between the victim and the perpetrator. And in many of these strong power differences, the idea that these differences came from traditional, patriarchal households was present. Yes, Russell's a feminist. And since 1 in 4 girls are incestuously abused, I think it is worth looking at. I'd be interested to read her other works...but not quite yet. This was a dark read.