Características de las mujeres en situación de calle en Buenos Aires según los sucesos vitales estresantes atravesados

Abstract

Aunque las mujeres suponen un porcentaje menor de las personas en situación de calle, se encuentran en una condición de especial vulnerabilidad y afrontan una gran cantidad de sucesos vitales estresantes (SVEs). El objetivo del artículo es analizar la relación entre los diferentes SVEs experimentados por mujeres en situación de calle en Buenos Aires, Argentina, (n = 72) y las características sociodemográficas, las trayectorias sin techo y su estado de salud. Los resultados configuran tres clústeres (A, B y C): el clúster A agrupa a mujeres que habrían experimentado múltiples SVEs en la infancia y adolescencia, –principalmente relacionados con violencia familiar y problemas económicos– que tendían a ser las de mayor edad. El clúster B agrupa a mujeres que habrían experimentado una gran cantidad de SVEs tanto en la infancia y adolescencia como en la edad adulta, que eran las más jóvenes, pero se habían quedado por primera vez en situación de calle de forma más precoz y presentaban las peores situaciones de salud. El clúster C incluye a mujeres que habrían experimentado una menor cantidad de SVEs a lo largo de su vida, y que se habían quedado por primera vez en situación de calle a una edad más avanzada, pero presentaban el mejor estado de salud. Un mayor conocimiento de los distintos perfiles de las mujeres en situación de calle, así como las similitudes y diferencias con otros contextos, pueden contribuir al diseño de políticas públicas, programas de intervención y dispositivos de atención que tengan en cuenta las cuestiones de género.

Homelessness is a complex social issue in both the global North and South. Despite its regional specificities, the literature links it to the structural dynamics that produce social exclusion. Although women make up a relatively small proportion of homeless people, they are particularly vulnerable, having experienced many stressful life events (SLEs) during their childhood and adulthood, and it is therefore important to understand this population. SLEs are experiences that play a key role in the lives of those who experience them, which often involve significant changes and can have a negative impact on psychological functioning and health. The SLEs experienced by people experiencing homelessness are quantitatively more numerous and qualitatively more severe than those experienced by the general population, both during childhood and adolescence and throughout adult life. Using a quantitative design, the aim of this article is to learn about the SLEs experienced by homeless women in Buenos Aires (Argentina), in order to examine in depth how homelessness affects different groups of women, and to analyze the relationship between the experience of different SLEs and the socio-demographic characteristics, trajectories of homelessness and health status of the women. To this end, a structured interview was conducted with a sample of 72 women in Communes 1 and 3 of the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a non-hierarchical cluster analysis (k-means) was used to classify the participating women according to the SLEs they had experienced. The results show a theoretically and structurally significant grouping into three clusters (A, B and C): Cluster A would be characterized by women who had experienced multiple SVEs during childhood and adolescence, mainly related to family violence and economic problems. Cluster B would include women who had experienced a high number of SLEs in childhood and adolescence and in adulthood. Cluster C would group women who had experienced a smaller number of SLEs in their lives. The results of the study provide evidence of the diversity of the homeless population, indicating the existence of different sub-groups with different characteristics depending, among other things, on the SVEs they have experienced. In this sense, it can be observed that women in street situations in Cluster A were the oldest. On the other hand, women in Cluster B had been on the street for the first time at an earlier age and had the worst health situation. Finally, the women in Cluster C were those who had become homeless for the first time at an older age and had the best health status. It was found that these three groups had many characteristics in common with women in the same situation in Spain, a high-income country. The existence of important similarities between homeless women in countries of the global North and South, with important cultural and income differences, could facilitate global approaches to relevant issues and the transfer of good practice. Increased knowledge of the different profiles of homeless people, as well as a deeper understanding of the specific characteristics and needs of different sub-groups, can contribute to the design of gender-sensitive public policies, intervention programmes and care arrangements.