Lisa Sigler

The incest-survivor movement provides essential help to adults who suffered sexual abuse as children, argues Lisa Sigler in the following viewpoint. Although critics of the movement have claimed that therapists encourage people to invent memories of childhood sexual abuse, Sigler maintains, these critics have failed to successfully prove that such memories are fabricated. In fact, she asserts, incest survivors who have come forward with their stories have helped to increase public awareness about the prevalence of child abuse. The incest-survivor movement both encourages individual healing from past abuse and promotes social activism to reduce sexual violence, Sigler concludes. Sigler is a professor at a women’s college.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. How does the story of Jean Piaget’s “kidnapping” support the claim that incest survivors suppress memories of...