Violência de Gênero e a Vulnerabilidade das Mulheres em SITUAÇÃO DE Rua

Homeless women become more vulnerable because they live in a context permeated by prejudice, violence, gender inequality and social rights. These women face physical and sexual violence on a daily basis, mainly from their partners, and the lack of connection with health professionals makes it difficult for them to seek help. They also face prejudice in the reception and difficulty in establishing a connection with professionals in health units. The objective of this study was to understand and analyze the reasons that lead homeless women to not seek health services other than the Street Clinic. This was a qualitative, descriptive study, conducted through semi-structured interviews with women living on the streets, served by the Street Clinic. All participants signed a Free and Informed Consent Form. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was only possible to interview 3 women. These women are 36, 43 and 57 years old and have been homeless for varying lengths of time. After analyzing the interviews, it is clear that women who leave home to live on the streets have family problems, lack of emotional bonds and, therefore, most of them start using psychoactive substances. The violence they suffer on the streets, whether psychological, physical or sexual, appears in 100% of the statements. Regarding health issues, they do not usually seek medical care, except in cases of great need or urgency, since when they do seek this care they are discriminated against and poorly treated by health teams. It is clear that most of the time they prefer to seek care at the Street Clinic due to the differentiated care and the care with which the team treats them. Therefore, it is recommended that nurses learn more about the homeless population and leave their prejudices aside to provide better care for this population.