04/03/2026
So honored to be interviewed for this exclusive story for People for helping the world better understand abuse within families!!
"The conservative Christian system in which the Duggars were raised could cover up — and exacerbate — such problems, she says.
"Kids growing up in these environments, they don't understand. You're not allowed to talk about s*x. A lot of times they don't even know that they're being abused, because they were never taught. They know something is wrong, but there's silence, secrecy, shame," Botwin says. "Sometimes teenagers are perpetrating sibling abuse as a way to say, 'I'm confused. Why is this happening in my body? I need to feel control.' Abuse is not about s*x, it's about power and control. It's also a way to act on the feeling without having to talk about it."
Addressing the problem and healing is possible, she says. "People can heal from anything no matter how bad it is, if they're willing to sit down and talk about it. I've seen siblings sit down in a room and talk openly about what happened between them. It's not just one conversation, but open, ongoing family therapy that takes place over the course of years."
Rutgers University School of Social Work
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More than two decades ago, when Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar learned their oldest son Josh had been s*xually molesting his younger sisters, the couple sent him to a church program rather than therapy.
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