I am a former victim of incest. I have recently come to grips with my problems and have faced the situation head on. I have always felt that there was not enough avenues a victim of incest can access help in a respectful and dignified manner. I have recently with the help of my husband come up with the idea of an Internet web site devoted to the specific offense of incest. My hope with this project is to make the support that is needed for the victims more readily available. My ideas are very specific but as of yet I have not completed my research or the proposal. I have help in all those areas of computer, and proposal write up. My question for you would be how to go about selling my idea and to whom. I am not looking to profit from this in anyway. I believe that as much as I can help others I can also gain some better insight on myself. Any help you can offer me would be greatly appreciated. Any ideas you may have would also be readily accepted. Thank you, Nancy

Thanks for your note and for your work and honesty. I wholeheartedly agree that there are too few support networks for victims of incest, especially considering that an average of 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 7 boys are survivors of incest. Likewise, those who are abused are still made to feel ashamed and those who abuse rarely have to own up to their offense.

For all of these reasons, I think that your proposal is a great idea. I'm unclear about exactly what the funding would be for. It sounds like you are only looking for start-up monies. From a funding perspective, incest remains one of those "things" that people don't fund the way they should. Much of the support thus far has come from the women's community, individuals and a few mental health outlets. Considering this, you should pursue the women's funding community. I'm not sure where you live, but you should contact the Women's Funding Network, based in Minneapolis, MN (or maybe it's St. Paul). They can connect you with national funds and also local funds in your geographic area (if there are any).

You should also make sure to contact a moderated e-mail list dealing with issues of violence against women, including incest, called FAVNET (Communities Against Violence Network). The main purpose of this list thus far has been research based, but throwing your idea into the mix, would probably generate much needed support--financial and other. So, please see information about CAVNET at: http://www.cavnet2.org

Thank you again for your work and for building a much needed support network. Also, let me know when it's up and running, so I can refer people to your site (if you don't mind).

—Amy