Intimate Partner Violence and HIV Testing in Filipino Women: Analysis of the 2017 Philippine National Demographic and Health Survey

We sought to determine the association between intimate partner violence (IPV) and HIV testing among a representative household sample of Filipino women, using data collected from the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey. In our sample, we found that 23.63% experienced IPV, and only 1.99% were tested for HIV in the past 12 months. We found that IPV was associated with an increased odds of HIV testing in the past 12 months (aOR = 1.42; 95% CI = 1.02, 1.99). Our study highlights the need to consider formal encounters with IPV survivors as opportunities to engage them in the HIV prevention and care continua.

"The devil will make you pregnant": Constructions of Sexuality and Womanhood among New Zealand Filipino Women

<p>High youth pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates in New Zealand are an under-researched health concern, particularly among ethnic minority communities. Conflicting sexuality messages from home and dominant cultures may make negotiating a sexual standpoint problematic for immigrant adolescents. An understanding of cultural minorities' constructions of sexuality and influences affecting their decision-making would aid the development of culturally applicable sexuality education. This thesis discusses research with New Zealand Filipino women, with an aim to investigate how immigrant women make sense of sexuality in the context of intimate relationships. For the first study, six focus group interviews, involving 33 New Zealand Filipino adolescent women, discussed individual and cultural interpretations of sexuality, safer sex and womanhood. A discursive analysis examined patterns of agreement and conflict in the young women's talk to reveal how they used and resisted cultural discourses of heterosexuality. Contradictions often arose as they shifted between dominant Western and Filipino messages about sexual safety and appropriate feminine behaviour. Principal constructions of women and sexuality that came out of the talk, and how these constructions promote or restrict sexual behaviours, are discussed. The second study, twenty-six individual interviews with New Zealand Filipino adolescent girls and their immigrant Filipino mothers, explored how immigrant women construct life narratives to make sense of their sexual selves. Interviews focused around individuals' personal stories of intimate relationships, heterosexuality, romance, sexual education, womanhood, and adjustment to the interface between New Zealand and Filipino portrayals of sexuality. Thematic and narrative analyses explored areas of agreement and dispute within and across the women's stories, as they took up different identities as mothers, daughters, girlfriends, Filipinas, and New Zealanders. Thematic analysis of the daughters' interviews examined key patterns in the young women's constructions of first sexual experiences, including explanations of first sex, the gap between expectations and experiences, sexual safety, and perceptions of their partners. One young woman's story was focused on in a more comprehensive study of how sexual, feminine and cultural identities are constructed and reconstructed through narrative. After an overview of the themes from the mothers' interviews, three mothers' narratives were discussed in relation to their constructions of sexual selves as they learned about, experienced, and taught their daughters about sexuality. Links found between mother and daughter narratives likely signify the passing of cultural stories of feminine sexuality through the generations. Many contradictions were apparent in the adolescents' talk, as girls worked to develop and explain a sense of self that moved between subject positions offered by the heterosexuality discourses of their new migrant context and their Filipino heritage. How young Filipinas' sexual stories recycle and resist the talk of their mothers and cultural contexts is discussed, as well as how cultural identities influence sexual practices. The thesis also reflects upon the appropriateness of discursive research for allowing cultural expression among marginalised populations.</p>

"The devil will make you pregnant": Constructions of Sexuality and Womanhood among New Zealand Filipino Women

<p>High youth pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates in New Zealand are an under-researched health concern, particularly among ethnic minority communities. Conflicting sexuality messages from home and dominant cultures may make negotiating a sexual standpoint problematic for immigrant adolescents. An understanding of cultural minorities' constructions of sexuality and influences affecting their decision-making would aid the development of culturally applicable sexuality education. This thesis discusses research with New Zealand Filipino women, with an aim to investigate how immigrant women make sense of sexuality in the context of intimate relationships. For the first study, six focus group interviews, involving 33 New Zealand Filipino adolescent women, discussed individual and cultural interpretations of sexuality, safer sex and womanhood. A discursive analysis examined patterns of agreement and conflict in the young women's talk to reveal how they used and resisted cultural discourses of heterosexuality. Contradictions often arose as they shifted between dominant Western and Filipino messages about sexual safety and appropriate feminine behaviour. Principal constructions of women and sexuality that came out of the talk, and how these constructions promote or restrict sexual behaviours, are discussed. The second study, twenty-six individual interviews with New Zealand Filipino adolescent girls and their immigrant Filipino mothers, explored how immigrant women construct life narratives to make sense of their sexual selves. Interviews focused around individuals' personal stories of intimate relationships, heterosexuality, romance, sexual education, womanhood, and adjustment to the interface between New Zealand and Filipino portrayals of sexuality. Thematic and narrative analyses explored areas of agreement and dispute within and across the women's stories, as they took up different identities as mothers, daughters, girlfriends, Filipinas, and New Zealanders. Thematic analysis of the daughters' interviews examined key patterns in the young women's constructions of first sexual experiences, including explanations of first sex, the gap between expectations and experiences, sexual safety, and perceptions of their partners. One young woman's story was focused on in a more comprehensive study of how sexual, feminine and cultural identities are constructed and reconstructed through narrative. After an overview of the themes from the mothers' interviews, three mothers' narratives were discussed in relation to their constructions of sexual selves as they learned about, experienced, and taught their daughters about sexuality. Links found between mother and daughter narratives likely signify the passing of cultural stories of feminine sexuality through the generations. Many contradictions were apparent in the adolescents' talk, as girls worked to develop and explain a sense of self that moved between subject positions offered by the heterosexuality discourses of their new migrant context and their Filipino heritage. How young Filipinas' sexual stories recycle and resist the talk of their mothers and cultural contexts is discussed, as well as how cultural identities influence sexual practices. The thesis also reflects upon the appropriateness of discursive research for allowing cultural expression among marginalised populations.</p>

Factors Associated with Pregnancy Among Filipino Women Aged 15-19: Results from the 2017 Philippine National Demographic and Health Survey

Background: Teenage pregnancy is an event known to have physical, emotional, and psychosocial implications. Despite such risks, many teenage Filipino women still have unintended pregnancies. This study aims to identify factors associated with pregnancy among Filipino women aged 15-19.Methods: We used data from the individual recode of the 2017 Philippine National Demographic and Health Survey. We used logistic regression for survey data to identify determinants associated with teenage pregnancy. Results: Out of 5,120 respondents, 420 (8.56%) have ever been pregnant. After adjusting for confounding variables, we find that there is strong evidence that belonging to the richer (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 0.51; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.27, 0.97) and richest (aOR: 0.45; 95% CI: 0.22, 0.93) socio-economic strata are protective against teenage pregnancy. Accessing the internet at least once a week (aOR: 0.42; 95% CI: 0.24, 0.74) or almost every day (aOR: 0.45; 95% CI: 0.23, 0.86) are also protective against teenage pregnancy. Among the religions, being Protestant (aOR: 0.46; 95% CI: 0.22, 0.96), or a Muslim (aOR: 0.28; 95% CI: 0.14, 0.58) lower the odds of teenage pregnancy as compared to being Roman Catholic. On the other hand, there is strong evidence that just finishing primary education raises the odds of teenage pregnancy by six times (aOR: 6.25; 95% CI: 1.31, 29.89) as compared to those who did not have any formal education. A year increase in age also increases the odds of teenage pregnancy by 2.93 times (aOR: 2.93; 95% CI: 2.48, 3.46).Conclusions: These findings highlight the need to implement reproductive health education and contraceptive promotion interventions on a nationwide scale. Promoting internet access through investments in internet coverage and speed may also help in further decrease teenage pregnancy. Urgent action is needed considering the prevalence of teenage pregnancy in the country and its rapid increase due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Filipino Women Ad-Makers’ Standpoint on their Professional Environment’s Regard of Women and Women in Beauty Product Ads

This paper rests on a premise that women ad-makers’ experience in the act of making advertisements (ads) of beauty products places them in a complex situation of ‘encoding’ ad content. They are not just making any other advertisement, but ads of products that have them as target consumers by virtue of them being women. Using Sandra Harding’s Standpoint Theory and employing an interpretivist paradigm, this article answers the question: How do Filipino women ad-makers perceive their environment’s regard of women as workers and of women characters in the ads they make? Using maximum variation sampling, twelve (12) women advertisement makers were included in in-depth semi-structured interviews; and another twelve (12) were included in two (2) focus group discussions (FGDs). Qualitative analysis reveals that the ad-makers have a strong situated procedural knowledge on how the professional standard of the advertising industry either impedes on or facilitates how women maneuver through their work life.

Stitching History: Filipina Garmet Workers In Winnipeg

This research project examines the working experiences of Filipino women who moved to Winnipeg in the 1960s and 1970s to become garment workers. Findings are drawn from oral history interviews with Filipina garment workers who arrived between 1968 and 1974. The participants, who have become pioneers in Winnipeg’s Filipino community, will be a part of Canadian history that has, so far, been poorly documented. This paper will also examine the garment industry in Winnipeg prior to the arrival of the first Filipina garment workers, as well as the push and pull factors which led to their migration from the Philippines.

Stitching History: Filipina Garmet Workers In Winnipeg

This research project examines the working experiences of Filipino women who moved to Winnipeg in the 1960s and 1970s to become garment workers. Findings are drawn from oral history interviews with Filipina garment workers who arrived between 1968 and 1974. The participants, who have become pioneers in Winnipeg’s Filipino community, will be a part of Canadian history that has, so far, been poorly documented. This paper will also examine the garment industry in Winnipeg prior to the arrival of the first Filipina garment workers, as well as the push and pull factors which led to their migration from the Philippines.