Interactions Between Direct and Structural Violence in Sexual Harassment Against Spanish and Unauthorized Migrant...

This article analyzes the intersection of direct and indirect violence against Spanish women and unauthorized migrant women working in precarious jobs in Almeria (Spain). Specifically, it seeks to understand how unauthorized migrant women define violence, the relationship between sexual harassment and other types of direct violence (such as intimate partner violence), and structural, legal, and cultural violence. To do this, we apply a multilevel intersectional analysis focusing on 32 interviews with Spanish and unauthorized migrant women. Three levels of intersectionality are shown. In the first, the interviewees do not label verbal abuse as sexual harassment. They attribute the abuse to their work. In the second, sexual harassment seems to be tied to "respect" and not "love," which explains why sexual harassment has less devastating consequences for women than intimate partner violence. In the third, experiences of sexual harassment differ between Spanish women and unauthorized migrant women, and a combination of sexual harassment and xenophobic and racist behavior occasionally appeared.