Editorial

In addressing matters pertaining to sexuality, we heeded the advice of Sigmund Freud when he emphasised the importance of using straightforward language and confronting uncomfortable truths, akin to calling a “cat a cat”. Additionally, Freud expressed the necessity of facing challenges and embracing potential disruptions in order to achieve a desired outcome, symbolised by his analogy of breaking eggs to make an omelette. In the process of preparing this special edition of Couple and Family Psychoanalysis, we encountered considerable obstacles, much like the act of breaking eggs. However, we remain optimistic that you will find satisfaction in the final product, likening it to relishing a delightful omelette.

The best way of speaking about such things is to be dry and direct; and that is at the same time the method furthest removed from the prurience with which the same subjects are handled in “society,” and to which girls and woman alike are so thoroughly accustomed. I call bodily organs and processes by their technical names, and I tell these to the patient if they—the names, I mean - happen to be unknown to her. “J'appelle un chat un chat” [“I call a cat a cat”] (Freud, 1905e, p. 48)

He further goes on to say:

The right attitude is: pour faire une omelette il faut casser des oeufs [“to make an omelette, one has to break eggs”]. (Freud, 1905e, p. 49)

Sigmund Freud regarded sexuality as the underlying foundation of neuroses and, consequently, as the very cornerstone of psychoanalysis. Even today, sexuality remains positioned at the core of psychoanalysis and, consequently, at the very essence of neurosis.

This leads us to our theme of this special edition “Turning a blind eye: sexual violence in couple and family relationships”. As psychoanalysts working with couples and families we are often confronted by sexual violence. What does it mean? How do we speak to sexual violence? Despite the increasing concern about domestic abuse, sexual violence within couple and family