This powerful documentary investigates the issues surrounding incest and sexual abuse and its increasing incidence in America (in New York, one in four children are sexually assaulted before they reach 18)

The film features the story of a mother who has recently discovered that her six-year old daughter has been sexually abused by the girl's father. The mother expresses her anger and frustration with the court system which appears to protect the father's rights at the expense of the child victim.

Intercut are the stories of other women and men who were sexually abused as children – they speak of their experiences of coping with their own emotions and feelings of guilt as victims of an offence which 'goes through all racial and socio-economic barriers – from the highest to the lowest'.

Interviews with social workers and rape counsellors give insight into issues such as notions of "provocation', what kind of offenders get away with the crime, and the media's role in eroticising children through consumer advertising.

Besides these cases, the film shows examples of preventative programmes in the United States which use drama and self-assertiveness training to educate children at an early age. The importance of working with mothers to enable them to help their children is stressed as well as the need to improve the laws governing children's rights.

Description Source: Cinenova Catalogue (1994). Edited by Kate Norrish. Editorial committee: Elaine Burrows, Liane Harris, Helen de Witt