'Ela desatou nós'pobreza urbana, laços sociais e autonomia de mulheres beneficiárias do Bolsa Família

Resumo

Poverty is one of the main thematic topics discussed by social sciences and, in the last decades, it received even more attention as a social problem that demanded State action through public policies. Between the many possibilities of State action courses that could be adopted to deal with the poverty issue, cash transfer programs have presented themselves as a very popular social assistance policy between countries in the Global South. The strategy of targeting women is one of the main features of this type of policy because it guarantees that the money is applied in a more “efficient” way for the family’s survival, especially benefiting children and adolescents. However, this policy’s feature is debated by feminist authors who consider as a way of “functionalize” women. In this sense, it is argued that the policy design reproduces gender roles that can overwhelm women with care work. In Brazil, Bolsa Familia completes 16 years of implementation and, despite controversies that surround it, it is considered a successful public policy to address poverty issues. In the research field about possible effects of the program on the lives of the beneficiary women, many authors also debate possible leveraging processes related to female autonomy. Regarding these possible effects of Bolsa Familia in women’s life’s, the consolidated literature points to two possibilities: the program either raised women’s autonomy or it strengthened unequal gender roles. The present work seeks to analyze if the social bonds of beneficiary women of the Bolsa Familia are built or transformed after their inclusion in the program, and if these bonds can stimulate or weakening their autonomy. The concept of relational autonomy adopted in this work combines a feminist and a sociological approach by considering that people can only be effectively autonomous inside their relationships with one another (never by themselves, as independent individuals), since they’re embedded in the communities where they live in. To answer the proposed research questions, it was conducted a qualitative case study that used documental analysis, direct observation and interviews placed in two vulnerable neighborhoods in Santos (SP) - Alemoa and Dique Vila Gilda. As a strategy for data collection and analysis, this research uses an oral history methodology, throughout interviews with thirteen beneficiary women of Bolsa Familia and residents of “stilt houses” (“moradias sobre palafitas”) in the referred territories. Interviews with social workers from Social Assistance Referencial Centers (CRAS Alemoa and Rádio Clube), attended by the beneficiary women, were also conducted. Results suggest that these women’s autonomy is imperfect, since dynamics produced by the intergenerational poverty cycle and the multiple deficiencies and violence (specially, gender violence) experienced by these women are not broken with the Program’s experience and, therefore, continue to condition their daily lives experiences. Finally, analyses showed that, on one hand, these women’s autonomy is weakened due to relationships with male partners who reproduce unequal gender relations; but, on the other hand, there’s space for building networks aimed at providing mutual help and affections between these women beyond the domestic sphere, which could lead to important dynamics for leveraging women’s autonomy and well-being.

Ficha do documento

Tipo

Dissertação

Ano

2021

Instituição

Fundação Getulio Vargas

Fonte

Repositório da FGV

Idioma

Português

Acesso

Acesso aberto

Identificador

oai:repositorio.fgv.br:10438/30742

Temas

Políticas PúblicasAdministração Pública

Palavras-chave

AutonomiaPobrezaLaços sociaisPolíticas de transferência de rendaPrograma Bolsa FamíliaGêneroAutonomyUrban povertySocial bondsCash transferGenderAdministração públicaAutonomia (Psicologia)Relações de gêneroPobreza - Política governamentalPrograma Bolsa Família (Brasil)Programas de sustentação de renda