The emotional complexities of abuse and incest: learning from Austria

Headline news in April 2008: 73 year old Josef Frizl has been arrested following the discovery that he held his daughter, Elisabeth, now 42, captive as a sex slave in the cellar of his home in Austria for 24 years. Frizl fathered all seven of Elisabeth’s children, one of whom died shortly after birth. Three of her children were brought up by Frizl and his wife, who claims to have known nothing of the soundproofed cellar and her husband’s unspeakable activity, the other three children were kept with their mother in the cellar behind a concrete reinforced wall and had never seen daylight – the eldest is 19, the youngest 5.

Consultant psychiatrist, Dr Raj Persaud, goes behind the headlines and explores the latest psychological theories that try to explain the complex relationships between victims and perpetrators in cases of incest, abuse and kidnapping

Frizl created an elaborate hide-out beneath his home, and went to painstaking lengths to secure their captivity. What would drive him to go to such lengths?

Dr Raj Persaud: Isolating the victim from the outside world is a key component of the psychological strategy involved in abuse. It not only ensures that neighbours, friends or authorities are not alerted and the perpetrator stopped, but also assists with creating a mental state within the victim that ensures they are more pliable in the abuser’s hands.
 
In the case of incest, one common technique of generating this isolation psychologically rather than physically is the threat that, should a victim expose a perpetrator, the abuser would go to prison and that would destroy the family. Alternatively, abusers claim that no one will believe them, or that others will believe that the victim caused the abuse, that they brought it on themselves or seduced the abuser.

When abuse is long-term or involves captivity, what sort of relationship develops between the abuser and victim?

Dr Raj Persaud: It is often the case that some level of unconscious or even conscious collusion from the victim seems to be a key factor in assisting the abuse to continue as it becomes their learned ‘norm’. Classically, this is referred to as ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ and was apparent in the case of Natascha Kampusch, also from Austria, who was held prisoner for eight years. Natascha expressed sadness and grief upon learning that her tormentor, Wolfgang Priklopil, had committed suicide.

Considering the level of abuse, how can this sort of relationship develop from an emotional perspective?

Dr Raj Persaud:  One theory as to why the abused sometimes forms an ‘attachment’ to their abuser is that, if you believe that your survival depends on the daily or hourly mood of your persecutor, then it is in your interest to try to influence them in a positive way and ultimately lessen their disposition to hurt you.

Another theory is that victims develop a second personality and it’s this second persona who experiences the abuse while another identity is free to have a separate relationship with the outside world, including the abuser. The ability to switch identities might not just protect the mind from overwhelming trauma, but also facilitate a way of living with someone who embodies frighteningly hostile qualities.

One in three women are said to experience abuse at some point in their lives. What impact can stories such as this have on other victims of abuse?

Dr Raj Persaud: It’s vital for those who have experienced abuse or who are experiencing it now, to know there is a developing understanding of their complicated, frightening and traumatic feelings. These are feelings that may have been stirred up in a disturbing way by the high levels of coverage of this story.

If someone has been effected by these horrifying events, perhaps having experienced incest, abuse or emotional or physical violence, then sharing your thoughts and feelings with a clinician or a doctor, or on Big White Wall, gives the opportunity to process and understand some very difficult ‘stuff’ that may have been lying suppressed for some time.

Share your thoughts and feelings on abuse on our dedicated Abuse Wall

Dr Raj Persaud FRCPsych is Consultant Psychiatrist at The Bethlem Royal and Maudsley NHS Hospitals Trust and Visiting Gresham Professor for Public Understanding of Psychiatry and a keen supporter of Big White Wall’s talk approach to emotional health. He has been awarded numerous Academic and Professional Honours including the Research Prize and Medal from the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He is the editor of the top ten best-selling book ‘The Mind – A Users Guide’ and he was voted as one of the top ten psychiatrists in the UK (Independent on Sunday Newspaper).