Social workers in the late 19th century were familiar with child sexual abuse and knew that its most common form was incest. In addition, the child-saving agencies of the upper classes analyzed the problem from a feminist perspective in that they blamed male brutality and lack of sexual control. However, the early 20th century brought a change to the inaccurate view that perpetrators were perverted strangers, victims were sex delinquents, and mothers were blamed for inadequate supervision. In the 1970's incest was "rediscovered" and reinterpreted. The current prevention materials and programs are beneficial in their inclusion of assertiveness training, but they need to include a feminist and anti-authoritarian analysis and discuss the relative powerlessness of females as well as economic power within the family. Prevention efforts should also strengthen mothers' ability to support themselves and their social and psychological self-esteem. In addition, the tendency to exaggerate the incidence of victimization and to produce moral panics should be resisted. Notes and 24 references