Segredo, Segredíssimo: interfaces entre a literatura e o abuso sexual infantil

Abstract

Throughout the centuries, children's literature has been seen in various ways, and questioned as to its nature. The first manifestations of this literary strand arose in France in the eighteenth century, where it was seen as a minor genre and associated, in a negative way, with mere entertainmentIn Brazil, the emergence of children's literature occurred at the end of the nineteenth century, a period marked by the arrival of the Republic. To the Brazilian children's literature, during this period, fell the responsability of the role of perpetuator of the current culture. Despite the impasses surrounding children's literature, since its inception it has conquered and influenced the development of its small readers. Having in mind the plurality of children's literature, we aim to establish a relationship with child sexual abuse, based on propositions raised by psychology theorists. The abuse directly interferes with the development of the child and can cause physical, psychological, and social, among other damages, manifested both in childhood and in adult life. Faced with this severe reality, we investigated in the present study the possibility of children's literature establishing dialogue with the child victim of sexual abuse, in order to help her, through an accessible language, to understand and deal with this situation. To better understand the applicability of this literary production, we use the book Segredo Segredíssimo (Secret very secret), by Odívia Barros (2011). As a result of this study, we conclude that children's literature, in dialogue with the subject of sexual abuse, can provide children, with a playful understanding, the nature of this act and show possible solutions that mitigate the proportions of the consequences. This research was based on the contributions of Lajolo and Zilberman (1999), Coelho (1984, 2010), Hunt (2013), Amazzaray and Koller (1998), Costa (2002), Romero (2007), Labadessa and Onofre (2010), Shaefer (2012) and Papalia and Feldman (2013).