Breaking The Silence in a Group On-Line Facing Child Sexual Abuse
Date
2022
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Psicologia em Estudo
Abstract
This article presents an excerpt of the data collected in interviews during
online ethnographic research about the disclosure of the experiences of victims of sexual
violence in a Facebook group entitled ‘Fight against child sexual abuse’. This study
considered the research’s understanding that the reports function as a possible way of
breaking the pact of silence and become the basis for the beginning of the psychic trauma
elaboration. Interactions in the group were recorded in a field diary during the four-month
follow-up period. The data were further analyzed in ten semi-structured interviews with
participants contacted through an invitation posted in the group. The interviews were
conducted by video call and asked about the meaning they produce when using the group,
reflecting on the possibility of overcoming the condition of victims. The use of the platform
emerges as a possibility to do something that helps other victims, either by sharing stories
or providing information that helps break the abusive cycle. It is observed that each victim
deals uniquely with the traumatic event, facing the psychic impacts of the aggression and
the moment of disclosure permeated by the family dynamics and power asymmetry. Thus,
the need for qualified listening is evident, which enables a subjective reconstruction
facilitated by elaborating on what happened.
Description
item.page.type
Article
item.page.format
Keywords
International Resources, Brazil, Ethnography online, child sexual abuse, facebook
Citation
Silva, C. M. D., Pereira, D. R. D. P., & Andrade, F. D. S. (2022). .Breaking The Silence in a Group On-Line Facing Child Sexual Abuse. Psicologia em Estudo, 28.