Specters of Trauma and Healing: Navigating Memories and Spaces in Childhood Abuse Survivors Through an Ethnographic and Philosophical Lens

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the experiences of adult survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA) and their relationship with domestic spaces through an ethnographic and philosophical lens. Survivors often perceive their homes as haunted sites, where traumatic memories persist and shape their present experiences. Drawing on hauntology and The Uncanny , the research explores how these spaces, once associated with trauma, are navigated and transformed by survivors through personalized rituals and storytelling. The ethnographic process allowed participants to verbalize their trauma, engage in purification practices, and reframe their narratives, offering insights into the spatial habituation of trauma. By integrating Ricoeur's concept of narrative time (1983) and Halbwachs' idea of collective memory (1950, 1992), the study highlights the transformative potential of shared narrative for both the individual survivors' recovery and the promotion of a shared awareness, in order to foster safer spaces both at the individual and collective level.