And the current laws against incest didn't prevent them . . .

So change the law to explicitly have greater penalties for cases of child abuse involving incest. But why penalise consenting adults?

I don't think so. Contraception exists in the UK and look at the birth rate there amongst young single women, for whom contraception is freely available. Also, look at the incidence of STDs, which also suggests the lack of the use of condoms, at least.

There we go, then. There is no reason whatsoever why the blanket law against incest should not be repealed.

Where abuse of children and the vulnerable takes place, then it can be dealt with by existing laws. Otherwise, consenting adults are free to sleep with whomever they choose.

Sounds like a plan. Perhaps we should suggest it to the Bundesrat?

Oh, hang on... they're already doing it...

can you give us some insight on this or do I have to read the book(!!) ?

"Incest: A new perspective" Mary Hamer?

Fine . . . so your 'natural feeling' should dissuade you from incest.

Why are someone else's feelings, less natural than yours?

Perhaps they are choosing to have children. Isn't that their right?


So because some people are irresponsible, everyone should have their rights restricted?

Perhaps we'd be better just sterilising all stupid people?

Totally true. However when you say "purpose" you're imbuing natural selection with anthropomorphism it doesn't deserve. Lack of incest and homosexuality is what got us here today, as a species. But during our evolution, there were no laws against either. They were relatively rare enough that broadly, it didn't matter. Having said that, they were inevitably far more common than they are today - in fact, through the majority of our evolution we roamed the earth in tiny tribes, only settling down 15000 years ago.

The other thing is that we're also wired to be scared of spiders, but in other cases get thrills out of doing dangerous things. Our "hard wiring" can't check if the bungee cable has been correctly secured to the bridge, and thus whether we're engaging in an activity that will stop our genetic progression in it's tracks, or give us a bit of harmless fun. Until it can, let's leave it out of the Bundesrat.

What laws cover a 13 year old boy abusing his 11 year old sister ?

Er... child molestation laws. As I understand it, the age of consent in Switzerland is somewhat higher than 11 years.

Not sure about Switzerland. In the UK there are lots of laws against this.

Because it isn't about penalising consenting adults for what they do in their bedroom perhaps,
but about not committing an incestrous act no matter who where and when?

c'est ça non??? that is what it is all about oder?

Will you feel offended if I talk about Levi Strauss? To him, prohibition of incest is a social necessity as a structural rule. In order to encourage exogamy, the prohibition of endogamic mariages must be based on taboos strong enough to keep the male population in a patriarchal society off the females of their own clan/tribe/community. This allows to build links and reinforce solidarity between communities/clans and promote peace as well as a better economical base for exchange and a higher variety of goods avaibable in the communities.

Just that you might consider something else than just bioloy...

__________________
Es wird nichts ausgelassen, um mich hier herauszuekeln. Ein Lehrbuch. False accusations and attacks continue. There is no stopping righteous people when they are wrong.

Agreed, but I was talking locally...

But why should the law cover consenting adults, as well as child abuse cases? There's no necessary link between the two, one is definitely wrong and the other is none of my business.

Umm, this is a whole other argument ... and one that is not relevant to this thread. I believe I already understand your feelings on the subject, given your preferring to live in Switzerland ... but, since you asked, I believe that many young women get pregnant either because they are ignorant, or wish to take advantage of the British benefits' system. But, as I said, not particularly relevant here.

In addition, I think that a lot of laws are instigated in order to cope with the irresponsibility of a minority; sometimes to the detriment of the majority. My belief is that this is not the case in terms of incest though.

Not in that order, one would hope.

Oh yes? Please do elaborate...

...having just read that Switzerland has one of the lowest ages of criminal responsibility, at 7, my arguments are starting to wane...

Aww Nicola, you've only just returned from a banning and already you're descending down the ad hominem spiral...see you again in the Spring?

Not least your Brummy thingy - but there have been other things that I have picked up on the past that would certainly point to a certain disdain with regards to the UK.