Gender and Borders in the South and Central American Context. A Scoping Review

Abstract

This scoping review aims to identify the diversity of topics currently being researched in the border contexts of South and Central America, specifically those that delve into the situation and experiences of women. The literature search focused on empirical research that has allowed us to understand the multiple realities, problems, demands, and challenges women face in border contexts. Methodologically, we worked with the PRISMA Protocol for scoping reviews (2018). Thematic analysis allowed the studies to be classified into three interrelated dimensions: structural violence, forced displacement, and circular migration. These dimensions reveal how gender inequalities intersect with factors such as racialization, migratory status, and socioeconomic precariousness, shaping specific forms of vulnerability for women. However, the study also highlights the individual and collective agency strategies that emerge in response to these forms of violence, highlighting practices of resistance, community support networks, and forms of agency. The findings contribute to the field of border and gender studies by showing how these spaces operate not only as geopolitical borders, but also as territories where social control and gender-based exclusion are reproduced and contested.

Plain Language Summary

Border & gender in Latin America: a Scoping Review

This Scoping Review seeks to highlight the main issues that research from different disciplines of the social sciences has been carried out on the South American borders, especially the problems and difficulties women face in this territorial context.

Introduction

This scoping review aims to identify the diversity of topics currently being investigated in the South and Central American border contexts, specifically those that delve into the situation and experiences of women. The bibliographic search focused on empirical research that furthers understanding the multiple realities, problems, demands, and challenges for women in border contexts.

Border studies have evolved into a field of analysis in the social sciences, as reflected in the growing number of investigations that explore the polysemy of realities that coexist in the area (Newman, 2015; Scott, 2020; Tapia, 2017). Thus, the study of borders has transcended geography and diplomacy, projecting itself into disciplines such as sociology, anthropology and medical sciences. These approaches have allowed the conceptual movement from the notion of a static physical border to the understanding of the border as a dynamic process (Dilla & Breton, 2019; Kolossov & Scott, 2013; Newman, 2011; Scott, 2020). Space where subjects converge and interact, communities and families circulate and live together in border areas as cross-border dwellers and not transnationals, understanding that life across borders forms the social spaces between countries in a particularly different way than that observed with the articulation of the long-distance migrant networks (Guizardi et al., 2017). Hence, cross-border areas are complex due to these confluences and nuances (Zapata Morán et al., 2022). Thus, the research agenda, which focuses on the study of borders, has a breadth of themes that address aspects such as:

• (i) The relationship between the state and the border (Benedetti, 2018; Stefoni et al., 2022);

• (ii) Human trafficking and drug trafficking (García-Pérez et al., 2023; Piña-Osuna, 2022);

• (iii) Memory and identity (Navarro-Conticello & Alonso-Meneses, 2023);

• (iv) Labor market and border economic circularity (Orraca Romano, 2023);

• (v) Borders and resistance strategies (Arriagada-Sickinger & Contreras-Gatica, 2023; Pinzani, 2022);

• (vi) Security and immigration control policy (Bigo, 2014; Casillo Ramírez, 2023);

• (vii) Health systems in border contexts (Galvis-Malagón et al., 2023);

• (viii) Interculturality, borders and migration (Herrera Leal et al., 2023);

• (ix) Meanings of borders and territorialization (Arévalo Peña, 2022);

• (x) Borders and social control in times of war (Maubert & Pizarro, 2022);

• (xi) Cross-border complexes (Dilla & Álvarez, 2018).

An important topic on this agenda is gender perspective and intersectional approach studies, which present a range of scenarios and interconnections (Guizardi et al., 2017; Pickering, 2011). It is important to note that, at a general level, gender studies in Latin America have developed significantly since the second half of the 20th century. Research on gender has advanced in close connection with feminist, Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and LGBTIQ+ movements, giving rise to situated theories and epistemologies that challenge hegemonic narratives. Contributions to gender studies can be categorized into five major themes: (i) feminist epistemologies (intersectionality); (ii) gender inequalities (Marchionni et al., 2019); (iii) gender-based violence (Trujillo & Contreras, 2020); and (iv) labor and care work (Garrido Ortolá, 2023). However, despite the growing interest in the intersection of gender and borders, the literature on this topic in the Latin American context remains fragmented. While some studies have addressed gender-based violence at borders (Borzacchiello et al., 2022), others have examined the impact of human trafficking (Dammert-Guardia et al., 2020) or the economic migration of female-headed households (Garcés-Estrada et al., 2022). Yet, a knowledge gap persists regarding how these factors interact and shape the specific experiences of women in border contexts, as well as the agency and resistance strategies they deploy in response to these forms of violence. Intersectionality plays a crucial role in understanding women’s experiences at borders, as it highlights how different forms of oppression—such as racism, xenophobia, and economic inequality—intertwine with gender to shape specific realities. This approach allows for an analysis of how women in border contexts face structural violence that extends beyond gender, incorporating factors such as ethnic origin, migration status, and social class (Guizardi, López Contreras & Valdebenito, 2021). Furthermore, it underscores the forms of resistance and agency that women develop in these adverse environments, contributing to a more nuanced and context-specific understanding of their struggles and survival strategies.

This study addresses this gap in the literature through a scoping review that examines the predominant themes in research on women and borders in South and Central America. In this scoping review, we ask ourselves whether border dynamics and contexts configure differentiated experiences of violence against women and how women in these spaces exercise resistance and capacity for action in response to this violence. This review maps the key issues, demands, and challenges faced by women in these contexts. The significance of this analysis lies in its potential to generate a more nuanced understanding of gender inequalities in border contexts. It also contributes to debates on the region’s mobility, sovereignty, and human rights by considering aspects such as racialization, migration status, and labor precarity. The findings have implications for the design of public policies and intervention strategies aimed at improving the living conditions of women in Latin American border regions.

Finally, this study makes an original contribution to the field of gender and border studies by explicitly articulating the relationship between structural violence and women’s agency strategies in border contexts. It synthesizes existing knowledge, identifying common patterns and gaps in the literature. The inclusion of an intersectional and comparative perspective allows for a deeper understanding of how racialization, migration status, and economic inequality shape women has differentiated experiences in these spaces. Furthermore, while violence emerges as a transversal dimension, female agency serves as a vector for transformation and resistance. This approach contributes to a perspective that moves beyond victimization, recognizing women as active agents in contexts of vulnerability.

Next, a conceptual approach to borders is presented, which is followed by the methodology applied for the selection of the articles based on the criteria of the PRISMA Declaration for scoping review (Tricco et al., 2018). Finally, the results are presented, and the main findings are discussed.

Borders: A Conceptual Approach

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the study of borders, especially in the South American context, has concentrated on the limits of the nation-state (Benedetti, 2018). This narrow focus raises the question of whether studies on borders in Latin America have overcome the nationalist tradition that characterized classical approaches or if it is now possible to develop a new Latin American critical epistemology for borderology (Benedetti, 2018). The questions invite us to explore epistemological perspectives in the study of borders.

Following Anzaldua (1987), an epistemology of borders implies the adaptation of research approaches, concepts, methods, and analysis because it is a laboratory of experimentation in constant transition, as well as an intermediate space that requires a reevaluation of racial and social subjectivity. Furthermore, it implies moving from static cartographic representations toward nomadic approaches that explore between interpretive dualities of reality and the construction of epistemologies influenced by factors that question the homogeneity of identities and subjectivities such as race, class, gender, etc. This reading allows us to understand that borders are a territorial device (Benedetti, 2018) with intersections and cracks and crannies that become a reality with differentiated experiences that displace the Westphalian Doxa of territories, peoples, and states, which perceives border areas as lines of separation between nation states intended to protect against outsiders (Dilla, 2016). In this sense, combining spatial categories, processes, and social phenomena in border spaces produces a variation in the concept of the border itself. Since the 1970s, the concept of the border has also been understood as a socially constructed space (Zapata-Barrero, 2012). This change in perspective marked a shift that transcends the purely geographical, recognizing that social, economic and cultural practices are equally relevant when exploring the configuration of borders and their meanings. Borders are defined as legal realities and abstractions, material constructions, symbolic devices, and literary elements in the subjects’ identities (Spindola, 2016). In this context, questions arise regarding what happens to the women who inhabit these spaces. What conflicts and difficulties do they face? What connections and networks are established? Does the transit, circulation or residence at a border create a (re)signification of their identities? Does the dynamics of cross-border mobility create gender relations, considering that those who inhabit the borders are differently situated concerning the nation state’s defined borders and the boundaries established by the internal hierarchies of each social space (Guizardi et al., 2022).

Gender serves as a critical lens for studying borders, as it makes visible how structural inequalities, power relations, and violence are differentially configured in these spaces. Borders are not merely geopolitical lines but rather dynamic social spaces where bodies are regulated, controlled, and in many cases, subjected to specific forms of violence based on gender.

This article encompasses both cross-border migration and border territories, with a particular emphasis on how these two elements interact from a gender and intersectional perspective. Regarding cross-border migration, the article explores women’s mobility in contexts of forced displacement, human trafficking, cross-border labor, and vulnerability along migration routes. It examines how women experience and navigate structural violence, institutional barriers, and inequalities throughout their migratory trajectories. About border territories, the analysis considers borders not only as geopolitical boundaries but also as dynamic spaces of social, economic, and political interaction. It includes research on the precarization of women’s labor in border regions, the formation of support and resistance networks, and the racialization of women in these contexts.

Situated at the intersection of these two approaches, the article examines how border spaces shape differentiated gendered experiences and how women on the move construct agency strategies within these territories.

Method

A scoping review is a systematic exploratory review that, through mapping the existing literature, seeks to (i) synthesize scientific evidence, (ii) evaluate the scope of the literature on a topic, and (iii) locate gaps in knowledge (Tricco et al., 2018). Furthermore, scoping reviews are characterized by reviewing broad content by answering population-context-concept (PCC) questions focused on keywords, specific methodologies and knowledge gaps (López-Cortes et al., 2022). In contrast, the systematic review asks explicitly about the effectiveness of an intervention in addition to synthesizing the available evidence on a research topic. Given the difference between the two reviews, a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) provides a checklist containing twenty essential and two optional reporting elements (Tricco et al., 2018).

Search Strategy

The search was carried out during August and September 2023 using three databases: Web of Science (WOS) Core Collection (n = 54), Scopus (n = 94), and Scientific Electronic Library Online (Scielo) (n = 92). The terms “Gender” and “Borders” were used for the WOS and Scopus databases, and “Género” and “Fronteras” were used for the Scielo database. The search terms were applied in the title, abstract and keywords fields. Once duplicates and all those not meeting the eligibility criteria were eliminated, the sample consisted of 34 articles.

Eligibility Criteria

The following were considered for inclusion: (i) articles published in English or Spanish, (ii) published between 2013 and 2023, (iii) located in South or Central America, (iv) articles whose population is women, (v) empirical research, excluding scoping reviews and systematic reviews, (vi) articles in the field of social sciences. The search results and the study inclusion process are presented in Figure 1, a flow chart for scoping review (Tricco et al., 2018).

Figure 1.

Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses extension for scoping review flow diagram.

Data Extraction and Analysis

We extracted data from each study using a checklist: (1) name of the author(s), (2) year of publication, (3) country and border, (4) approach linked to gender and borders, and (4) methodological approach, description of the sample and method/technique. Narrative quotes were extracted for qualitative studies, and for quantitative studies, variables and statistics related to the research objective were extracted. Regarding the analysis, first, the studies were characterized concerning their population, borders, country of origin, and topics, assigning dimensions, categories, and subcategories. Secondly, an analysis was carried out that preliminarily revealed two related axes articulated transversally: violence and agency processes.

Results

Diversity in this Scoping Review

In this scoping review, diversity experiences are broad and span various dimensions. The geographic and cultural diversity of the different borders analyzed in the reviewed articles influences the women who transit these borders or live in border contexts. For instance, the Mexico-United States border, being a prime migratory corridor, presents a high level of violence associated with organized crime, trafficking, and human smuggling. Although we observe varying nuances and intensities of experiences across the analyzed borders, women are interconnected by violence: sexual, labor, cultural, and social violence, public space violence, racism, extortion, sexual and labor exploitation, and violence perpetrated by organized crime. Additionally, a theme that connects these forms of violence is the administrative irregularity faced by many women residing in or transiting the studied borders. Specifically, obstacles to accessing legal, health, and educational services exacerbate their vulnerability.

Moreover, while this review presents a diversity of women in terms of their nationalities, we observe racialization dynamics depending on the countries of origin. For example, there is a tendency to exacerbate racism toward women of Colombian, Venezuelan, Haitian, Peruvian, and Bolivian origin. In the case of the northern border of Chile, historical migration with Peru and Bolivia (circular migration) and historical tensions with both countries have generated a tendency to subordinate people from these nations. At the Mexico-United States border, the racialization of Colombian women is marked by the sexualization of their bodies. Thus, racial differentiation processes determine how women are treated, accentuate the fetishization of their bodies, and perpetuate profiles of vulnerability. Finally, it is essential to highlight that in this scoping review, the diversity of contexts, borders, and violence. In addition, methodological and disciplinary approaches provide a broad perspective that helps identify the multidimensionality of the conflicts and realities faced by women in border contexts.

The study populations in these investigations are women in a migratory context, displaced or residing on the borders of their country of origin. Regarding borders, we selected articles with research located on South and Central American borders: (i) the Paraná Triple Border; (ii) the Mexico-United States and Mexico-Guatemala Borders; (iii) the Northern Border of Chile; and (iv) the Southern Border of Ecuador. Figure 2 summarizes the dimensions, categories and subcategories that our systematization of the analyzed information yielded. In this sense, the results express three dimensions: (i) violence, (ii) forced displacements, and (iii) circular migration. Within each dimension, categories emerge linked to specific issues women face in border contexts. This taxonomy is not hierarchical but is a way of systematizing the information collected. Likewise, it should be noted that the subcategories are dynamically intertwined, some transversally and others tangentially. Next, we present the main results (Figure 2) and then present some particularities of the borders where the analyzed research is housed. Subsequently, a descriptive analysis and discussion of these are carried out.

Figure 2.

Classification of dimensions, categories, subcategories, and borders.

Description by Category

The categories presented in the results section were not arbitrarily defined but rather emerged from a systematic thematic analysis of the selected studies. The process of category selection followed these steps: (1) Initial data extraction: key information from each study was extracted, including research focus, theoretical frameworks, methodologies, and main findings. (2) Identification of recurring themes: A preliminary classification of themes was conducted by identifying recurrent topics across studies, considering common patterns in gender and border studies. (3) Framework alignment: The emerging themes were cross-referenced with the conceptual framework of the review, particularly theories of border dynamics, gendered violence, and agency. (4) Category refinement: The final categories were defined through an iterative process, ensuring that each dimension (Violence, Forced Displacement, and Circular Migration) encapsulated multiple subcategories grounded in empirical evidence from the reviewed literature.

These categories reflect theoretical and empirical patterns observed in the studies rather than predefined classifications. Additionally, their alignment with key debates in gender and border research ensures coherence between the conceptual framework and the findings (Appendix Table A1).

It is crucial to emphasize that the analytical categories presented in the results section were established through a rigorous process of review and systematization of the 34 empirical studies analyzed in this scoping review. This categorization was not predetermined but rather emerged from an iterative and inductive approach, ensuring that the identified dimensions, categories, and subcategories reflected the empirical realities documented in the reviewed literature.

Moreover, this categorization allows for an intersectional analysis that captures the compounded vulnerabilities faced by women at borders, considering not only gender but also factors such as ethnicity, migration status, and socio-economic conditions. By structuring the findings in this way, this study provides a nuanced framework that facilitates the examination of both systemic inequalities and the strategies of resistance and agency that women deploy in response to these challenges. Thus, the selected categories serve as an analytical lens through which the complexity of gendered experiences at borders can be explored, ensuring that the review not only documents existing literature but also contributes to a deeper theoretical and empirical understanding of these dynamics.

Violence

The four categories that emerged in the dimension of violence are Human smuggling and trafficking (n = 8), sex work (n = 4), and gender violence (n = 3). Themes that support structural violence where subcategories converge that, in one way or another, are present transversally and that have been grouped into three areas. Health: sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), HIV AIDS, mental health, physical health, and emotional, problematic drug use. Female insecurity: violence in public spaces, sexism, racism, re-victimization, socialization of patterns of violence. Insecurity in the context: criminal activity, illegal trade, extortion, sexual, and labor exploitation. Now, when human rights are violated, community support networks and female agency emerge. Both act as a counterweight to situations of structural violence that allow us to situate what some feminist researchers have called “re-existence,” which is understood as solidarity practices that go beyond mere survival. Finally, it should be noted that this violence operates in an interconnected manner due to an unequal power structure under a patriarchal system that positions women’s bodies as disposable, mistreatable, and rapable objects.

Forced Displacements

Regarding this dimension, the categories of war on drugs (n = 3), migratory crisis (n = 2), and undocumented migration (n = 4) stand out. These have been grouped into (i) drug trafficking: organized crime, guerrillas, corruption, human trafficking, liminal state, that is, a weak state that lacks control; (ii) rights: lack of protection, violation, violence, institutional racism, protection shelters; and (iii) vulnerability and administrative irregularity: feminized circuits of undocumented migration; porous borders, underground economy, human smuggling, border control, unauthorized crossings. As in the previous dimension, we observe how, in the face of contexts of inequality/vulnerability, community support networks are permanent support actors in women’s lives.

Circular Migration

In this dimension, we have systematized the information into categories related to cross-border maternity (n = 3), corporeality’s in movement (n = 3), and domestic service and care (n = 4). This dimension has been linked to female subjectivity that converges in a complex context. Thus, in this category, they have been grouped into (i) identities: racialized otherness, sexualization; (ii) care: underground economies, emotional exhaustion, single parenthood, lack of protection, global chains of care, abandonment; and (iii) bodies: bodies-territories, movements, transformation, changes, circularity, underground economies. As in the previous categories, support networks and women’s agency in the face of vulnerability are a vector of transformation and action that positions the female subject as a political subject.

Discussion

South and Central American Borders

It is necessary to clarify some issues related to the nine borders of the studies. Based upon the number of associated investigations, we have made four groupings: (i) the Triple Border of Paraná; (ii) the Borders between Mexico-United States and Mexico-Guatemala; (iii) the Northern Border of Chile; and (iv) the Southern Border of Ecuador.

Firstly, the Paraná triple border between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay shows certain peculiarities. González and Staevie (2018) highlight that due to economic development projects that energize the region, a sustained demographic increase is observed, especially in Brazil and Paraguay. This increase has stimulated the presence of women in two work areas: domestic and care service and illicit and informal cross-border trade (Guizardi et al., 2020). It should be noted that economic growth is not synonymous with stability and socio-labor equality; on the contrary, precariousness and inequality are accentuated, and, above all, they are gendered. The research housed in this area addresses issues related to inequality, work and domestic work overload, violation of rights, patterns of violence and border mobility as a strategy to overcome experiences of violence (Guizardi et al., 2020; Guizardi, López Contreras & Valdebenito, 2021).

Second, one of the world’s most dangerous land migratory routes includes the borders between Mexico and the United States, and Mexico-Guatemala. The risks include drug trafficking, organized crime (Cepeda, 2020; Grineski et al., 2013), human trafficking and smuggling, especially of women and children (Collins et al., 2013). These dangers intensify with undocumented migration that seeks to cross the border into the United States (Silva & Alfaro, 2021). An essential dimension of this migration is how public space stops being a meeting place and becomes an environment of vulnerability (Borzacchiello et al., 2022). Street harassment manifests itself as sexual harassment, which in this border context implies threats of feminicide or disappearance. Young women experience the most significant mobility restriction in public spaces due to the insecurity it causes (Almanza et al., 2022). The interaction between gender and age determines vulnerability to crime in urban spaces (Servin et al., 2015). The fear of being a victim of a crime, of living in a socially unsafe context, and distrust of the police transform the daily dynamics of those who travel through this region. In the case of women who participate in the informal economy, such as sex work, worse than performing work without labor recognition is the constant fragility and insecurity due to the risk of being victims of organized crime and criminal gangs. This risk exposes women to direct violence and contributes to a significant prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases, such as HIV, in addition to various kinds of abuse and violence at the hands of their partners (Febres-Cordero et al., 2018; Servin et al., 2015).

On the other hand, the work trajectories of women who reside in cross-border cities, such as Tijuana, Mexico, or San Diego, United States, are associated with the field of care. An interesting dimension is the change for Mexican women or women of other national origin with regulated documentation who frequently cross the border. With the immigration changes in the United States, labor agreements have been modified: women with formal documentation stay in the home of the families where they work during the week and only on weekends return to their home in Mexico. On the other hand, women who managed to reach the United States without formal documentation settle permanently with the families they work for.

Another issue that systematically emerges in this context is forced displacement. Clandestine routes between both borders are often an alternative, but they constitute a risk factor for women (Borzacchie et al., 2022; Cueva-Luna & Terrón-Caro, 2014). The interplay between violence, insecurity, inequality, and political and economic instability expels them from the territory, which results in permanent revictimization, an existential fragility where, despite their seeking a way out, they are often paralyzed by fear (Grineski et al., 2013; Ulibarri et al., 2019).

The third border grouping is the border of northern Chile with Peru and Bolivia, known as the triple Andean border. Regarding Chile’s border with Peru, the dynamism of the border cities of Arica (Chile) and Tacna (Peru) is evidenced by the flow of people and trade (Guizardi et al., 2019). The same applies to Chile’s northern border with Bolivia, as a series of standard practices facilitate circular movement on both sides of the border (Garcés-Estrada et al., 2022). This is due to the facilities provided by a regulatory framework, “Agreement on Residency for Nationals of Bolivia and Chile, member states of Mercosur” implemented in 2009, which allows crossing the border with only an identity card (Garcés-Estada, Leiva-Gómez, Comelin-Fornés, 2022). In this sense, the circular migration of women of both Peruvian and Bolivian origin is an axis of research that has set the agenda in this border context.

Chile’s historical relationship with Peru and Bolivia clarifies an understanding of this form of migration that is linked to agricultural work, care work, and commercial services (Garcés-Estrada et al., 2022; Rico & Leiva-Gómez, 2021). The latter can be analyzed as one of the factors that generate an identity change in women, given that mobility provides a differentiated perspective from those who do not face the changes and continuities experienced in the border situation (Guizardi, 2016; Valdebenito & Guizardi, 2015). Another recurring theme in studies is the approach to the experience of transnational motherhood and the creation of cross-border families, the complexities involved in caring for others, and the emergence of care chains in the global south (Araya, 2023; Garcés-Estrada et al., 2018, 2019, 2022).

The latent dangers for women in this border area are human trafficking and smuggling, which, considered as specific forms of gender violence, produce new corporalities (Liberona et al., 2021; Liberona & López, 2018), act as a control device toward women, as well as violating fundamental rights. These new corporalities represent racial and sexual imaginaries that position women in a subaltern condition where racism operates to the point of emotionally and physically affecting women’s bodies (Macaya-Aguirre, 2022).

Finally, the fourth grouping of the southern border of Ecuador with Peru is a heterogeneous area in demographic terms, which has seen a transformation with the intensification of Peruvian and Colombian nationals transiting this area of Ecuador. In the specific case of the relationship between Ecuador and Peru, in 1998, an agreement for broad border integration and development was signed by both countries. It included a Binational Development Plan for the Border Region that included strengthening the economy and consolidating aspects of the productive and social infrastructure. Despite this, the area presents a series of illegal activities, including human trafficking, that affect the safety of those who live there. Dammert-Guardia et al. (2020) emphasize that this phenomenon in border areas becomes a point of configuration of circuits of the illegal market in persons. It is a socio-spatial configuration in areas of reproduction and development of trafficking (Ruiz, 2023) as spaces that modify the vulnerability of the victims. Lastly, it is a place that gives greater visibility to the institutional arrangements of the border subsystem. In this way, the interweaving between race and gender converges in terms of sexualization, racialization and exoticization based on racial imaginaries that reinforce the objectification and dehumanization of women (Ruiz, 2018).

With this clarification of the different border characteristics, we will now turn to a descriptive analysis according to the classification by categories.

Violence and Agency

There is a convergence of themes that are articulated transversally in the analysis carried out. Violence is a dimension that is embedded in the realities that the empirical research addresses and manifests itself at the macro (institutional), meso (social), and micro (individual-subjective) levels. The questions that arise from this are: Why do borders become a liminal place, a hybrid space where violence and vulnerability emerge that affect women? What do women represent in this threshold space? Could the articulation of (in)security, sovereignty, circularity, migration, political community, nation-state, citizenship, control, securitization, risks, and dangers give it a meaning of place-territory, disputed, fluid, and unstable? In particular, Guizardi et al. (2020) point out that borders are configured from a dialectical tension between mobility-permanence and legality-illegality. It is why borders are transformed into plural spaces where the subjects who inhabit them act by resignifying or renegotiating the classificatory hierarchies that the nation-state creates. In this line, the authors define border regions as places where existing, harmful social structures (economic, political, and social inequalities) are amplified. Using an intersectional perspective to analyze the problems of women in a border context allows us to situate the complexity of the production of inequality and to evidence the systems of oppression that operate in it. It is impossible to homogenize border contexts and point out that similar situations occur on all borders without considering the particularities of the territories. Indeed, Hill Collins indicates that an analysis that aims to be intersectional. The context of the research lacks intersectional meaning since the social, political, territorial, or economic contexts influence how the matrix of oppression is articulated, that is to say, that contextual, political, and security dimensions are intertwined with the experiences of women on the border (Guizardi, López Contreras & Valdebenito, 2021; Ruiz, 2018).

Violence is a transversal dimension in the research that makes up this scoping review, and the other dimension that is present is agency, both individual and community. For Guizardi et al. (2020), agency is the capacity for action that subjects have over their social environment. Agency can be configured as the antithesis of violence and is closely related to domination, subordination, and vulnerability. However, for Butler, Gambetti & Sabsay (2016), agency is activated in contexts of violence by being a vector in the generation of actions or willingness to achieve a transformation that allows for the mitigation of the consequences of violence. The border, therefore, is constituted as a space for women to learn about their strengths and also survival strategies (Araya, 2023; Guizardi et al., 2020; López, 2019). Finally, at the community level, the agency is active in generating a community support network in areas of care, in the workplace, in migrant caravans, in situations of lack of protection, in sex workers, survivors of human trafficking, in the underground economy, etc. (Cepeda, 2020; Collins et al., 2013; Cueva-Luna & Terrón-Caro, 2014; Febres-Cordero et al., 2018; López, 2019).

The discussion has been revised to establish a clearer and more explicit connection between the findings and the study’s core focus on gender and borders. Rather than reiterating general trends in the field, it now highlights how the intersection of gender and border dynamics creates specific vulnerabilities and forms of agency for women in border regions. The discussion emphasizes how violence, labor exploitation, and precarious migration pathways uniquely affect women in border contexts, considering their racialized and socio-economic positioning. On the other hand, instead of reinforcing a narrative of victimization, the findings are now connected to women’s strategies of resistance, community organizing, and survival mechanisms, show casing the diverse ways in which they navigate border restrictions and systemic inequalities. Finally, borders as Gendered Spaces: The discussion now illustrates how borders function not just as geopolitical boundaries but as sites of gendered regulation, control, and exclusion, influenced by state policies, security measures, and informal economies.

Limitations

This study has some important limitations that should be acknowledged. First, the scope of the search was restricted to three academic databases (Web of Science, Scopus, and Scielo), which may have limited the breadth of the literature included. Another aspect to consider is the strictly empirical approach of the analyzed corpus, which, while allowing for a situated approach to women’s experiences in border contexts, leaves out theoretical contributions, essays, or critical reviews that could have enriched the analysis.

Despite these limitations, the findings of this review have significant implications for public policy formulation, social intervention, and the defense of rights in border regions of South and Central America. First, by highlighting how structural violence, racialization, and the precariousness of women’s lives at the borders are intertwined, this synthesis offers key inputs for the development of border policies with a gender and intersectional approach. This implies moving from securitization models to approaches that prioritize the protection of rights, access to services, and the dignity of migrants and cross-border people. Second, the results can guide the work of non-governmental organizations operating in border contexts, especially those focused on human rights, sexual and reproductive health, decent work, and psychosocial support. The identification of forms of individual and collective agency, as well as community care networks, opens possibilities for the design of interventions that recognize women not only as victims, but also as active agents of transformation. Finally, this review can strengthen the defense of women’s rights in regional and transnational forums, providing empirical evidence to support the urgency of comprehensively addressing the multiple forms of violence that intersect in border territories, from a critical, situated, and human rights-based perspective.

Conclusion

The findings of this scoping review highlight the complex and multifaceted nature of gendered experiences in border contexts across South and Central America. Through the analysis of 34 empirical studies, this research identifies three interrelated dimensions—violence, forced displacement, and circular migration—that shape women’s realities at borders. These dimensions reveal how structural inequalities, compounded by factors such as migration status, ethnicity, and socioeconomic conditions, create differentiated vulnerabilities and risks for women in these spaces.

One of the key contributions of this study is its emphasis on the intersection of gender and border dynamics, demonstrating that borders function not only as geopolitical markers but also as sites of control, exploitation, and resistance. The recurring patterns of gender-based violence, including human trafficking, labor exploitation, and public insecurity, underscore the urgent need for policies and interventions that specifically address the unique challenges faced by women in border regions. Similarly, the findings on forced displacement and circular migration highlight the precarious conditions under which many women navigate these territories, often relying on informal networks and resilience strategies to mitigate their vulnerabilities.

Beyond the patterns of violence and exclusion identified, this review also highlights the specific vulnerabilities faced by women in border contexts, which are linked not only to their gender, but also to their migratory status, ethnic origin, and socioeconomic status. These vulnerabilities are expressed on multiple levels: in limited access to basic services (health, justice, housing), in constant exposure to dynamics of criminalization and stigmatization, and in the daily experience of structural and symbolic violence that shapes a horizon of permanent risk. In this sense, borders are liminal spaces where the state often withdraws or acts selectively, leaving women in a situation of high institutional defenselessness.

However, this same adverse environment also gives rise to forms of strength and agency that are fundamental to understanding social dynamics at borders. Women not only survive in these contexts, but also activate strategies of resistance, collective care, negotiation with formal and informal actors, and reconstruction of community ties. The emergence of support networks, solidarity economies, strategic mobility practices, and symbolic forms of re-existence—such as storytelling, art, or organized denunciation—show that, despite precarious conditions, women deploy capacities that allow them to influence their environment. This agency, far from being secondary, must be considered a central axis for the design of public policies and intervention strategies with a focus on gender rights and justice.

These insights make a significant contribution to the field of gender and border studies by providing a structured framework for understanding the interplay between mobility, structural violence, and agency. By systematically mapping the thematic areas where gender and borders intersect, this review not only synthesizes existing knowledge but also identifies critical gaps that warrant further investigation. Future research should explore the role of state and transnational institutions in shaping border dynamics, as well as the evolving strategies of resistance and collective organization among women in these spaces.

This study underscores the necessity of adopting an intersectional and context-sensitive approach to gender and border research. Recognizing the diverse ways in which women experience and respond to border-related challenges is essential for advancing theoretical discussions in feminist geography, migration studies, and human rights discourse. The findings presented here provide a foundation for both academic inquiry and policy development aimed at improving the conditions of women in border regions across Latin America.

Finally, it is important to acknowledge one of the limitations of this study: its reliance on existing literature, which may introduce biases related to the selection of topics covered in academic production. Most of the reviewed studies focus on qualitative experiences, leaving limited room for triangulation with quantitative data that could help measure the scope of violence and agency. Additionally, geographical coverage is determined by the availability of research, which may restrict the understanding of less-studied border regions.

Future research should incorporate mixed-methods approaches to provide a more comprehensive analysis of violence and agency processes. It would also be valuable to further explore the diversity of study subjects, particularly the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals in border contexts. Lastly, future studies should examine the impact of migration and securitization policies on women’s life trajectories across different borders, as well as the emergence of transnational networks of support and resistance.