Runaway Beauties : Coping Strategies among Returning Filipino Women who Experienced Labour Trafficking

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of how Filipino female returnees cope with the experience of labour trafficking when reintegrated into their home communities, and how this coping relate to existing research on comparable returnee experiences. The empirical material consists of qualitative interviews with five returnees, conducted during an eight-week stay in the Philippines. The study identifies coping strategies adapted upon return, and analyzes them in the light of the local context and previous studies in the field. The results of the study indicate that, according to the women’s descriptions, strategies related to the escape/avoidance coping type are adapted to a higher extent than other types of coping strategies. These strategies seem to be highly related to the experience or fear of becoming victims of gossiping neighbours and/or patronizing family members. Distancing through humour was also appearing to a great extent in all the interviews, as well as seeking social support. It was found that the strategies expressed by the women were mostly emotion-focused or dysfunctional as opposed to problem-focused, but in many cases active as opposed to passive. The most common social support resources appearing in the interviews were the family, the church, and the supporting organization. The experiences of the respondents have a lot in common with the experiences brought forward in other studies in the same field, though it is important to be aware of the different social and cultural settings in which most of the existing research has been implemented. With this study, the author hopes to contribute to a better understanding of what kind of support Filipino female labour trafficking returnees are in need of, and how to further develop the support system for them and similar groups.