“Estou na rua... a gente trabalha”: identidades de mulheres venezuelanas na prostituição em Boa Vista-RR

Abstract

Since 2015, Brazil, especially the state of Roraima, has welcomed a growing number of migrants and refugees from Venezuela, with more than 134,071 people expected to be internalized by 2024, according to data from UNHCR and CONARE. This population influx has generated significant challenges, such as a lack of infrastructure and a negative impact on essential education, health, and security services. Among the consequences of this migratory phenomenon, the increase in prostitution stands out, especially among Venezuelan migrant women. Despite the importance of this issue, the identity construction of these women in the context of prostitution in Roraima is a gap in linguistic studies in this border context. This study aims to understand the narratives of migrant women from Venezuela and their identity construction as migrants, Venezuelans, and prostitutes living in the city of Boa Vista-RR, aiming to understand the challenges they face as sex workers in Brazil and how these women represent themselves in their narratives. The aim of this study is to understand the challenges they face as sex workers in a new country and how they represent themselves in their narratives. The research was conducted by listening to the narratives of three Venezuelan prostitutes who work on street corners in Boa Vista. The analysis of the narratives was based on the studies of Labov (1972), Bastos and Biar (2015) and Biar, Orton and Bastos (2021), adopting an Applied Linguistics approach. The narratives reveal that the migrants face the imposition of the Portuguese language instead of Spanish when serving their clients. They see prostitution as a legitimate occupation, free from guilt or prejudice, in a process of redefining their work. In addition, memory and identity are intertwined in their stories, with the migrants' main concern being to bring their families from Venezuela to Brazil, providing better living conditions for their relatives far from their home country.