A violência na vida de mulheres em situação de rua na cidade de São Paulo, Brasil

Abstract

This survey aimed to bring out reflections regarding situations of violence in the lives of women who were living on the streets in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. During the fieldwork, the researcher interacted with about 100 homeless women and recorded perceptions in a field diary. Subsequently, 22 women were interviewed in a shelter. We gathered from the results that these women’s homeless condition was related to violence suffered within the domestic and family context, insufficient income to ensure their own and their children’s needs and breakdown of social ties. On the streets, they experienced violence in territorial disputes, gender oppression, lack of privacy, drug trafficking and hygienist practices. This study deconstructed the stereotypes of fragility and dependence among homeless women. In the relational process, they too were instigators of disputes over space and power.