Homeless Women with Children. Buenos Aires, 2023-2025

Abstract

The objective of this article is to analyse how women who spend the night on the streets of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area with their dependent children inhabit the city. Given that the majority of those who live on the streets are men, existing research neutralizes gender differences and has been written without distinction. Living on the streets and being a woman is a different experience, especially if one is caring for children. Regarding methodology, this article was constructed from in-depth interviews with women with children living on the streets and with social workers who work in shelters for this population. This article aims to answer the following questions: What is the social and economic profile of women living on the streets? What are the specific characteristics of women living alone with children in their care? How do they inhabit the city? What specific care strategies do they implement when living on the streets? What public policies, particularly housing policies, exist for this group? Regarding the results, it can be stated that the women who participated in the study are chronically poor, living in public spaces intermittently, in places hidden from public view, and that the causes of homelessness are related to a lack of income and supportive family ties, as well as gender-based violence.