Poverty, Gender, Drug Use, and Stigma: An Intersectional Discussion from the Perspective of Homeless Women
摘要
This chapter addresses the intersectionality between poverty, gender, and drug use, focusing on the stigma faced by homeless women. Initially, the chapter explores the need to understand the concept of intersectional stigma, analyzing the homeless population from this perspective. The chapter highlights that homeless women face not only the stigma of poverty and drug use but also gender oppression, which manifests in specific forms of violence and challenges, such as the difficulty of taking care of health and children. These factors contribute to the invisibility of these women, who are more violated on the streets and face worse health indicators when compared to men, resulting in complex experiences of stigmatization that require an intersectional approach to be understood. Furthermore, it is argued that violence is often present in the lives of these women before the context of homelessness and perpetuates on the street in other forms, making violence a constant element in their lives. At the end of the chapter, data on the reality of homeless women in Uruguay and Brazil are presented in order to highlight the need for equitable public policies that consider their specificities and vulnerabilities.