A retrospective study of incest referred by the Women and Child Protection Unit (WCPU), Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) to the Psychiatry Department for evaluation from January 2000 - December 2004

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to describe the demographic profile of the both the victims and perpetrators of incest as well as the circumstances surrounding the abuse.METHODOLOGY: This was a descriptive retrospective study of incest cases seen at the WCPU of VSMMC after getting permission from the WCPU Head and Medical Records Section of the said hospital while maintaining anonymity and after gaining the Ethics & Research Committee approval. The charts with incomplete data were excluded.RESULTS: Ninety six charts were reviewed. Fifty one (53.13%) were in the age range of 11 - 15 years old with the youngest victim being only 3 years old and the eldest was 27 years old at the time of referral though the incest began when she was 10 years old. All the victims referred were female and 94 (97.92%) were children at the time of referral to the WCPU thus 53.13% had only attained an elementary education. Seventy one (73.95%) of the victims were not residents of Cebu City. Sixty one (63.54%) of the incest cases occured during the day between 12 noon till 559 PM. Two thirds (64 or 66.67%) of the incest cases occured within the victim's household and 72 or 75% of the abuse was done repeatedly. The abuse was usually reported after 72 hours in 69 of the cases (71.88%). There were 101 perpetrators wherein 99% were males. Forty nine (48.51%) were in the age range of 28-47 years old while there were 11 (10.89%) were in the 13-17 years age range. Majority (53 or 52.48%) had blue collar jobs while 43 (42.57%) were unemployed. All of the perpetrators were known to the victim with the ff distribution almost half (47 or 46.53%) were fathers or stepfathers and the other half  (46 or 45.54%) were extended family members such as uncles (22 or 21.78%), first cousins (16 or 15.84%) and grandfathers (8 or 7.92%). There were 7 (6.9%) brothers and 1 (0.99%) sister who were also perpetrators of incest.CONCLUSION: The demographic profile and circumstances surrounding the abuse were as expected with many coming from remote communities outside the city of Cebu that could possibly be the cause of delayed consultation at the WCPU despite laws that require reporting to the Department of Social Welfare within 24 hours.