We know that in the case of child abuse of various types, parents or close relatives are responsible for something on the order of 80% of cases.
It is rarely a stranger doing such things, despite parents' inordinate fears of children falling into the wrong hands.
I think it is likely true that sexual abuse by parents is far commoner than most believe.
Many of our old dark fairy tales and myths suggest this.
We also see it as quite common in places like parts of Africa where men routinely rape young girls.
And we know from studies that many prostitutes had childhoods with fathers that raped them.
We are a savage species, chimpanzees with bigger brains, but the brains do not overcome our nasty origins.
Remember, in a number of species in the animal world, fathers often kill the children.
We are, as Mark Twain said in his last years, the damned human race.
And just look at our willingness to kill large numbers of children in war. The U.S. and Britain killed thousands in Iraq. Israel just killed four hundred in Gaza.
OUR SOMEWHAT BIGGER BRAIN ONLY MAGNIFIES OUR ABILITY TO INFLICT PAIN AND KILL
