Housing, property and survival: explicit and silenced dilemmas among women in domestic violence settings

Abstract

This article explores how gender disparities in housing and property are constructed and sustained in domestic violence settings, despite recent legal progress in Brazil. Using a feminist qualitative approach to research, the article examines women’s housing histories before, during and after abusive relationships, and in seemingly non-violent settings in Recife. It reveals how material and socially constructed inequalities, added to the gaps between legal and policy frameworks and their implementation, expose women to crucial dilemmas such as fleeing from home to survive, or tolerating violence in exchange for a place to live and to secure property. Beyond the impact, the article analyzes the processes through which domestic violence fuels housing deficits and inadequacy, and how patrimonial violence has been silenced, despite legal recognition. It also reveals contradictions in government housing and tenure regularization policies that can disadvantage, even when claiming to empower women.

Keywords:
Housing; Security of Tenure; Domestic Violence; Patrimonial Violence; Women; Gender; Recife