Narratives of the ominous: Adolescence and school in a dialogue toward a culture of prevention against child sexual abuse

Abstract

Freud (1992) describes the ominous as an ambivalent semantic nucleus between word and concept through its signifier. The ominous, unheimlich in German, refers to the sinister or terrifying, and heimlich refers to the familiar or intimate. When these two seemingly contradictory terms are brought into dialogue we find convergences, at least in the semantic field and in educational research. Child Sexual Abuse (ASI by its acronym in Spanish) is an ominous issue that plagues Latin America, and specifically Mexico’s children. Schools and their stakeholders have a decisive responsibility in addressing this topic sensitively and necessarily. This article aims to problematize current and empirical data issued by different national and international bodies, to trace some perspectives and stories produced in a dialogue with adolescents in public schools; and, finally, to interpret the meanings and narratives that shed light on a culture of prevention against Child Sexual Abuse through an exploratory proposal for a listening and narrative laboratory in schools.