Chiara Gunella

Visiting Toronto Metropolitan University

Winter 2026

Chiara Gunella holds a PhD in Social Anthropology. Her research explored how professionals working with women who experienced sex trafficking respond to emotional needs, cultural misunderstandings and projections. She completed the Erasmus Mundus Master in Migration and Intercultural Relations, where she conducted participatory, feminist art-based research with migrant women in a reception centre, exploring how ties to their country of origin shaped their experiences in the new context. She holds a BA in Anthropology, Religions, and Oriental Civilisations, during which she conducted research on how asylum seekers constructed narratives during interviews with territorial commissions, focusing on cultural and social memories.

Over the past four years, she has contributed to applied research projects including SO-CLOSE (digital storytelling with migrants across generations), Hello Europe (migrant-led initiatives), MILE (local political participation), and Cope and Hope (support for women after sex trafficking). She values research as a space for co-creation and continuous processes of (un)learning.

Research focus while a Bridging Divides Future Leaders Fellow

"Transnational Mothers Being Here and There: Navigating Care, Presence and Wellbeing Across Borders"

Under the supervision of Dr Zhixi Zhuang, this study explores how mothers living in Barcelona navigate the emotional and practical dimensions of mothering across distance, examining how care, presence and wellbeing are shaped when children remain in their countries of origin. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with transnational mothers, the research investigates how these mothers sustain their caregiving roles across borders through digital communication, economic support, and emotional labour. Key dimensions that will be explored include the negotiation of authority and affection at a distance, the sharing of everyday life and celebrations, and the challenge of managing family life across time zones and demanding work schedules. The study also pays close attention to mothers' own wellbeing, the experience of physical absence, the tension between adapting to life in a new country and remaining present for children far away, and the evolving dynamics that emerge when families are eventually reunited.

Selected publications

Gunella, C., & Mancinelli, F. (2026). Professional Interactions with Sex-Trafficked Migrant Women in Spain: Everyday Discretion, Practices, and Challenges. Journal of Human Trafficking, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322705.2026.2669809  (external link) 

Gunella, C., & Rodrigo, J. (2022). Migration Studies: How Should We Approach Them? Learning Through Participatory Practices. The So-Close Case Study. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 21. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069221144504 (external link)