The experiences of motherhood on the Brenner border to the test of international migration and the phenomenon of trafficking for sexual and labour exploitation

Abstract

This contribution stems from two research experiences conducted between 2017 and 2022. The first, along the Brenner route, in which I analyzed how the reproduction of geographical, material and symbolic boundaries, builds experiences of precarious motherhood for the Kurdish and Nigerian women met. The second, was for the insight project (Building Capacity to Deal with Human Trafficking and Transit Routes in Nigeria, Italy, Sweden), in which I had the opportunity to return to the field and focus on the narratives produced about women by institutions and services. The cases I will analyze are related to the trajectories of some mothers of Kurdish and Nigerian nationality, for which motherhood takes on different meanings dependent on the legal and existential precariousness produced in the context of the studied border.