You know Kim,

I don't know where you are going with this. I remain firm on the facst that incest is abuse. Hitting children is abuse. Children who can attach to SOMEONE have a far greater chance of surviving intact. Neurological development depends on attachment. In grad school I wrote a paper about a book, Genie, that told the tale of a child whose early years were spent in a godawful abusive home. She didn't develop language because of the abuse, lack of attachment, and ensuing neurological deficits.

Abuse is A cause of PTSD. Not the only cause. This is also the case with natural disasters, and wars, etc.

The thing to me that makes this all so sad is that children who live in a home here, now, in our western culture-- that may appear safe, are suffering from abuse. We need to protect them.

I do understand that there are other opinions about what is abuse, and what constitutes trauma. I don't portend to say that all abuse equals a mental dx. There many fully functioning survivors whose resilience carried them through.

There is some good information on where I am coming from in the following quote:

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
Anyone who has gone through a life-threatening event can develop PTSD. These events can include:

Combat or military exposure
Child sexual or physical abuse
Terrorist attacks
Sexual or physical assault
Serious accidents, such as a car wreck.
Natural disasters, such as a fire, tornado, hurricane, flood, or earthquake.

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This is from the National Center for PTSD, U.S. Department of Military Affairs.

Yes, it is a western, U.S. government agency that does not allow a lot of room for cultural habits that may engage in these activities that we believe are harmful to children. I think that is a good thing.

Yes, I know there are other opinions, habits, patterns, cultures in our wide and wonderful world. However, I feel it would be too invalidating to deny the experience of many, whose lives have been turned upside down.

You know, there are people out there who say the holocaust didn't happen. I don't listen to them either.