According to FBI statistics, about 34 percent of child abuse cases involve incest. Incestuous abuse occurs when the child is related to the sexual abuser. Victims of incestuous abuse tend to experience more frequent, invasive, and long-term sexual abuse as the perpetrator has ongoing and convenient access to the victim. Research suggests that, on the whole, incest victims suffer greater psychological damage than do victims of other types of child sexual abuse. Not only is the child affected by the sexual abuse itself, the child’s entire view of interpersonal relationships is distorted by the incestuous relationship. Particularly when children are abused by a parent or a close caretaker, their ability to trust, to believe themselves worthy of care, and to value or even recognize their own needs and boundaries can be profoundly damaged. The abuser is not acting as a caretaker but as a user and exploiter of the child. In this context, it is often difficult for the child to understand that this is neither normal nor acceptable and that it is the adult who is at fault, not the child.