UNINTELLIGIBLE LIVES AND UNSPEAKABLE PRACTICES: BRAZILIAN TRAVESTIS NEGOTIATING POSITIONS BETWEEN CRIMINALISATION AND VICTIMISATION WITHIN ORGANISED PROSTITUTION NETWORKS

Abstract

This article highlights the criminalisation of Brazilian travestis and the organised forms in which they survive within prostitution networks. The article explores the contradictions between the understanding of travestis about their experiences and the normative frameworks of intelligibility within the sex trade, both within Brazil and abroad. The data was obtained from thirty-two in-depth interviews. Seven of the latter were conducted by Brazilian non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Three were conducted by Spanish institutions dealing with prostitution involving immigrants, and the remaining twenty-two interviews were conducted with Brazilian travestis during the period 2008-2010. The analysis shows that Brazilian travestis who work within prostitution networks are criminalised. Their situation is little understood by formal institutions, thereby increasing their social vulnerability.