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Less numerous than homeless men, less often mentioned in the academic literature on exclusion or gender, less visible in social representations and very rarely without any shelter, homeless women are relatively invisible. This article combines qualitative and quantitative methods to understand, from a gendered perspective, the life trajectories of these women as well as their institutional care. Homeless women are exposed to specific forms of violence, structuring their life trajectories, but also benefit from particular forms of institutional protection which are different from that of men. Such violence and forms of protection are based on gender, which is both a vulnerability factor and protection for homeless women.