Vulnerabilities of Venezuelan refugee women: violence and intersectional social relations

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the vulnerabilities of Venezuelan women considering their experiences of violence in refugee situations. Method: Qualitative study, developed with ten (10) Venezuelan refugee women in the southern region of Brazil, through individual in-depth interviews. The theoretical framework of analysis was Vulnerability, Human Rights, and Intersectionality. Results: The greater the intensity of the intersection of social markers present, such as sex, racial, nationality, generation, cultural, bodily, territorial and other relations, the greater the range of vulnerable experiences in the social relations of these women, producing exclusions and violation of rights. Conclusion: The situations of vulnerabilities of refugee women are enhanced as more or less social markers intersect in their life experiences and established social relationships, causing impacts that allow the transition from ‘vulnerable to violated subjects’. Thus, intersectional relationships were formed, either promoting oppression or producing resilience and resistance.