Touristification and the Territories of Gender-Based Violence in Lisbon

This study contributes towards the burgeoning literature on the negative social consequences of touristification by uncovering the entanglement of gender violence and the territories produced by tourism in Lisbon’s nightlife districts. Drawing upon a perspective of body-territory, this study questions how gender-based violence affects nightlife workers in a touristified urban centre. The research is based on a year-long ethnographic study of women’s workplaces at night, which includes different forms of observation and a set of interviews with women and non-binary workers. The findings of the study describe the territorial dimension of violence for the workers of Lisbon’s tourism-oriented night life, focusing on the asymmetrical repartition of violence, which varies in its nature and intensity according to the neighborhood, the status of the venue, and the workers’ level of experience and authority in the venue. The conclusion of this study underlines the significance of territory for understanding the dynamics of gender-based violence in the nightlife and discusses future avenues of research on the topic.