Abstract

We analyze the stories of 30 Paraguayan women about their experiences of violence between Ciudad del Este (Paraguay) and Foz de Iguazú (Brazil). The aim is to characterize these experiences and their impact on the female presence in public space multidimensionally. We will present the theoretical debates on the concept of violence, establishing its links with gender mandates and Latin American border territories. We will then define the research methodology, developed from the Extended Case Method and multisited ethnography, and characterize the profile of the interviewees. Sections four, five and six constitute the original contribution of the article, analyzing women's stories of violence in Ciudad del Este, at the border crossing and in Foz de Iguazú. We conclude by presenting the findings of the study, showing that female mobility strategies are structured by the imperative of avoiding violent experiences.