O (des)amparo de irmãos vítimas (in)diretas da violência sexual intrafamiliar

Abstract

In the scientific literature dedicated to child and adolescent sexual violence, the focus has been given to the child/adolescent who is the direct victim of sexual aggression. We understand, however, that the siblings of the direct victim of the incestuous scene would also have been exposed to violence, even if indirectly. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the emotional experience of children indirectly exposed to child sexual violence perpetrated against their siblings by an aggressor in the family group. Seven individual interviews were carried out with children/adolescents, guided by the psychoanalytic method and anchored in the presentation of four drawings as a mediating resource. After each interview, a transference narrative was written containing the participants free associations, as well as the interviewer's emotional reactions. In the end, the material was analysed using Fabio Hermann's Multiple Fields Theory, resulting in three fields crossed by the participants and entitled: “What about me?”, “Whose side?” and “Where’s mom?” In the “What about me?” field, it was observed that participants harboured fantasies about the place they occupied in the plot of sexual violence. The “Whose side?” deals with feelings of doubt and betrayal along with fluctuations in whether to position oneself (or not) on the side of the brother or alleged aggressor. The field “Where’s mom?” discusses the participants' search for the mother in the incest scene, showing that the dimension of incest goes beyond the fraternal scope. Therefore, significant emotional suffering was observed among the indirect victim brothers, which highlights the need for psychological interventions within this social group.