Relations de genre dans les organisations mafieuses italiennes: de l’invisibilité des mères et épouses à “l’agentivité” des femmes.

Abstract

This research aims to analyse womens’ roles within Italian criminal organisations. Through a thematic analysis of the targeted “mothers and wives” that played heterogeneous roles within mafias, this research delves into the complexity of women in the Mafia and their actions within inter and intra-family dynamics and interactions. A special focus will be dedicated to investigating the role of violence in these actresses’ lives, who can be both vic- tims and perpetrators of direct and/or indirect violence. Through a mixed methodological approach, a comparative study of the already existing literature and original qualitative data analysis, this arti- cle outlines how female violence(s) can be expressed and manifested in different ways. One of the main outcomes of this research is to describe women’s violence(s) as elements characterised by strong polymorphism, particularly in the framework of peculiar social contexts in continuous evolution.