religious

Despite common understanding that Islam encourages consanguineous marriages and relationships, the revered Muslim theologian Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1059–1111) in his principle ethical work, the lhya ‘ulum al-din, asserted that "the woman should not be a near relative of the husband, because near relationship diminishes the sensuous desire." Aryans from North of India primarily scoff at consanguineous marriages while it is acceptable amongst the Dravidian South Indians. Religious endogamy is mandatory for the Parsi community in India, leading to consanguineous marriages between cousins.

It seems that religiously speaking, incest was not acceptable or advised but consanguineous relationships do have the religious sanctity under certain sub-sects. So is there more than what meets the eye? Is incest a question of need over ethics? Is one community’s terrorist actually the other community’s freedom fighter?

Psychoanalytic

The Austrian neurologist and father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud argued that as children, members of the same family naturally lust for one another, giving rise to Oedipus Complex. Hence making it necessary for the societies to create incest taboos, but Westermarck argued the reverse, that the taboos themselves arise naturally as products of innate attitudes.

In an interesting modern example of the Westermarck effect at work, researchers studied traditional Chinese families, who sometimes adopt a young girl into their households with the intention of marrying the girl to their sons. They discovered that the girls are often strongly opposed to such marriages when they come of age, and that these marriages are more prone to later dissolution, childlessness, or adultery.

Historical

While most cultures in recorded history have held sibling or parent-child couplings taboo, royalty have been exempted in many societies, including ancient Egypt, Inca Peru, at times Central Africa, Mexico, and Thailand. While royal families in Europe avoided sibling incest, many including the Hohenzollerns of Prussia, the Bourbons of France and the British royal family often married cousins. The Spanish Habsburgs, who ruled for nearly 200 years, frequently married among close relatives. A New England missionary Hiram Bingham arrived in Hawaii in 1820 to find Royal incest, was "not only accepted but even encouraged" in Hawaii as an exclusive royal privilege.

Can we use a historic economic factor to rule our present day life? Furthermore, what about the biological issues related to incest?

Biological

The Spanish Habsburgs may have ruled for 200 years, but their dynasty ended in 1700 with the death of Charles II, a king so riddled with health and development problems that he didn't talk until he was four or walk until he was eight. He also had trouble chewing food and couldn't sire a child. The physical problems faced by Charles and the pharaoh Tutankhamun, the son of siblings, point to one possible explanation for the near-universal incest taboo: overlapping genes can backfire.

Contemporary

It has been found that siblings who are raised apart at times develop sexual attraction to each other when they meet later in life, developing what is known as genetic sexual attraction. Would their responses provide any linkages to any of the other perspectives mentioned above? Are they even relevant? Does incest take a different variant here?

While we grapple with these thoughts, let’s address yet another aberration to this taboo. It is often debated about how incest is different from sexual abuse? Why don’t we treat them in a similar fashion since the very act of incest is similar to that of sexual abuse; momentary or long-term sexual gratification. Can we not simply rest the case of abuse of minor involved in incestuous activity under child sexual abuse? How does one differentiate between what is primarily a variation of sexual abuse?

Legal

Even though it has been demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt how incest causes far higher damage by breaking the trust in the closest of relationships, often beyond repair, the legal recourse is not that simple.

In India a combination of the following provisions of law are used by the authorities to register the case:

I.P.C. Section 90- Consent known to be given under fear or misconception I.P.C. (1860) 511- Attempt to sexually exploit I.P.C. (1860) 354- Outraging the modesty of a woman I.P.C. (1860) 375- Rape I.P.C. (1860) 376- Rape by personnel of armed forces, rape resulting in death or vegetative state, gang rape and repeat offences I.P.C. (1860) 377- Unnatural offences Goa Children's Act, 2003 POCSO (2012) formulated in order to effectively address the heinous crimes of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children. Though a legal triumph of sorts, it has it’s own shortcoming. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance (2013)