5 - Violence toward Siblings

Summary

The harsh facts about the severity and prevalence of parental violence toward children were kept secret for many years. The fog of denial and dismissal was so thick that doctors, therapists, and society at large were reluctant to believe the phenomenon existed, despite recurrent visits to emergency rooms by babies and children suffering wounds and fractures that clearly resembled the results of abuse and despite repeated reports by adults that they had been beaten or abused by their parents as children. The cloak of secrecy was lifted as a result of the efforts of pioneering doctors, feminist organizations, bold therapists, and public figures. Today, Western society is increasingly open to recognizing the horrific facts and prepared to confront the persistent phenomenon of the violence of parents and other adults toward children. Yet on a subject closely related to parental violence, dismissal and denial by the professional community and society at large still reign. The subject is violence toward siblings.