Rape is NOT worse than repeated incest. However, it can be more violent. But, survivors of a one time incident are more likely to remember ever detail about it. When we go through repeated sexual abuse, we start to understand how to deal with it quickly, because we feel we have no other choice. So we sensitize ourselves to it, we numb ourselves, and disssociate, and don't want to believe it's happening, so it's harder to tell the story.

Family members don't want to believe the incest occurred. They WANT to believe it was a lie. They don't want to pursecute their loved one. They love the attacker so they want to believe he just made a mistake and he can be cured, etc.

For example, to explain this knowing someone vs. not knowing someone, my husband is in jail for burglary of my old friend's parent's apartment. Two of his friends were ther with him, they were witnessed by neighbors, and they're even on video tape. But my friend's parents decided to not persecute our other two friends. Why? because they knew them. They knew they were drug addicts and they made a big mistake. They gave them both a second chance. However, they didn't allow the one that planned the burglary and steal from me and my friend many times prior to the burglary in the home again. But they allowed the other friend that they liked better in the apt after the burglary. They favored him and didn't want to believe he was involved in any way. But they convicted my husband, because they didn't know him and they needed someone to persecute for the crime. They put all the blame on him. They believed he was the worst. They believed he was an evil person. All they could see was a criminal.

When the people don't know the person that committed the crime, they see them as a monster, a non-human. When they know and love the person, they can understand or at least want to understand that the person was at a bad time in their life and made a mistake. It's easier to forgive a person you know, than a complete stranger. This is their reasoning for this. But with incest, they also don't want to believe it. With sibling incest, the parents don't want to believe that they child would do such a thing. They raised this child, and they don't want to believe they raised him to be a molester.

The truth is that incestual abusers are molesters, rapists, or pediphiles that stay at home. They're no different or worse than then the ones that go outside the home to attack. On one point they can be worse (although a lot of outside the home attackers do this as well), because they have power and authority over the victim, they know she/he trusts him/her, and they use that to their advantage. They probably also know they're less likely to get caught. They usually choose one's that are less likely to speak up about it.

This is a good question. Although I don't really have an answer. We should be the one's getting help and not being tortured. it's our family that doesn't understand this. All I could say is talk to your family again. Get down and beg them on your hands and knees to not let yours abuser near you.