secrecy as a tool to continue the abuse and to reinforce the connection between victim and aggressor, which makes reporting and investigating the violence especially difficult. 183 The "Secret Syndrome", characteristic of abusive intrafamilial relationships, describes the process by which the aggressor, trying to avoid social rejection, uses forms of coercion so that the minor does not reveal what happens between them. 184 No wonder Florence Rush describes incest as "humanity's best kept secret." 185 97. By keeping their attacker’s secret, the victim has the psychological tendency to feel complicit in what happened, being overcome by feelings of guilt that can have serious repercussions for her entire life. 186 Guilt, coupled with altered understanding of the family institution and relationships of trust, makes incestuous rape even more harmful than ordinary rape, which is already one of the greatest atrocities that can be inflicted on a human being. I note that the secrecy about rape can persist even if the victim reports the violence suffered to a family member. Specialized literature describes situations in which mothers, for example, cover up the abuse suffered by their children to maintain the supposed stability and security of their family. 187 98. This typical structure of domestic sexual violence is fully observable in the case at hand. Ms. Losada was subjected for months to repeated abuse by her cousin who was 10 years older, who lived at her home and, as the victim describes, occupied the emotional space opened in her life after the departure of her older brothers from their parents’ home, establishing a relationship of trust. 188 As stated in the judgment and in written statements and in Ms. Losada’s public hearing, E.G.A used emotional manipulation techniques to generate feelings of guilt and shame in the victim, convincing her that she had voluntarily participated in the sexual acts and that her conduct had been incorrect and intentional. 189 Her trusting relationship with her older cousin made her negate any future bad feelings on her part and berate herself for thinking poorly of her cousin. 190 I highlight the excerpt of her testimony at the public hearing, which demonstrates the pernicious effects of this manipulation: (…) I was repeatedly raped, tortured dozens of times, but it never occurred to me to tell anyone about any of this or ask for help. What's more, I thought it was better for me to take my own life before sharing this; I tried to commit suicide twice, and there are several reasons why I didn't tell anyone. That question is one of the most difficult for me because when I went to court, they told me: but why didn't you say anything? I didn't understand at that time, after years of working with other survivors, and understanding the trauma, now I understand, I know what was happening to me. I didn't Furniss (1993) describes an “interlocking syndrome of secrecy”, linking the child and the person committing the abuse and family members. Cf. FURNISS, Tilman. The Multiprofessional Handbook of Child Sexual Abuse. Porto Alegre: Artes Médicas, 1993. Similarly, cf. RANGEL, Patricia Calmon. Abuso sexual intrafamiliar recorrente (Recurring intrafamilial sexual abuse). Curitiba: Juruá, 2001. 184 Cf. FURNISS, Tilman. The Multiprofessional Handbook of Child Sexual Abuse. Porto Alegre: Artes Médicas, 1993. 185 Cf. RUSH, Florence. The Best-kept Secret: Sexual Abuse of Children. Hoboken: Prentice Hall, 1980 (our translation). 186 Cf. RANGEL, Patricia Calmon. Abuso sexual intrafamiliar recorrente (Recurring intrafamilial sexual abuse). Curitiba: Juruá, 2001. 187 Cf. PFEIFFER, Luci; SALVAGNI, Edila. Current view of sexual abuse in childhood and adolescence. Journal of Pediatrics, vol. 81, 5 (2005), p. 197-204. In the case of Ms. Losada, as she describes at the hearing, “all the former members of my family turned against me, they even went to trial to speak ill of me.” Cf. Statement of Brisa De Angulo Losada in public hearing before the Court on March 29, 2022. 188 Cf. Information Statement by Brisa De Angulo Losada on August 1, 2002 (evidence file, fl. 1064), para. 37. 189 Ibid. para. 8-15; Brief of Pleadings, Motions and Evidence of November 20, 2020, p. 69. 190 Cf. Information Statement by Brisa De Angulo Losada on August 1, 2002 (evidence file, fl. 1064), para. 815; Brief of Pleadings, Motions and Evidence of November 20, 2020, p. 69. 183 33