Experiences of Girl Abuse at a Protection Home in Santiago, Chile

Abstract

From the notion of intersectionality and justice, girls are subjects of abuse by a patriarchal and adult-centered system, aggravated in situations of poverty and judicial processes. From this basis, in 2017 an ethnography of girls residing at a protection home in Santiago, Chile, was carried out, to know and analyze their particular experiences of abuse. Three main types of abuse were identified: a) Gender relationships, where inequalities between girls and boys are clear, the imposition of stereotypes, imitating domestic and caretaker roles, and conflicts amongst peers; b) Body and sexuality, where body exposure and lesbofobic sanctions are identified; c) Control and submission, in which adult centered power and control and the appraising of obedience are identified.