Feminized Migration in East and Southeast Asia: Policies, Actions and Empowerment

Desde la década de 1980, la migración laboral ha venido feminizándose cada vez en mayor medida en el este y sudeste asiáticos. Para principios del siglo XXI, se estimaba que había más de dos millones de mujeres trabajando en la región, lo que constituye un tercio de la población migrante. Casi todas las mujeres migrantes se desempeñan en labores reproductivas, como el trabajo doméstico y los servicios sexuales, en hogares de particulares y sectores comerciales informales. No obstante la gran necesidad de proteger su bienestar y sus derechos humanos, los gobiernos de los países de destino ven a los migrantes simplemente como una fuerza laboral que se requiere para cubrir la escasez de mano de obra local, e ignora las medidas de protección y las políticas en función del género. Por su parte, bajo la presión para incrementar los ingresos de divisas extranjeras, los países que constituyen la fuente de esta fuerza laboral alientan a sus mujeres a migrar y a remitir sus ganancias, pero ante la competencia mundial, los gobiernos de estos países han mostrado poco interés en el bienestar de las mujeres migrantes. En el contexto de los antecedentes poco alentadores en materia de derechos humanos de los países del este y sudeste asiáticos, los actores no estatales han adquirido una importancia creciente en la defensa de los derechos de los migrantes, lo que han logrado a través de redes locales y transnacionales. Las raíces de la migración–feminizada y que por lo tanto tiene en cuenta consideraciones de género–en el este y sudeste asiáticos se encuentran en el rápido pero desigual desarrollo económico de la región, caracterizado por la desigualdad y el conflicto que producen las diferencias de género, clase social y nacionalidad. La transferencia de mujeres extranjeras de la región desde economías de bajos ingresos (Filipinas, Tailandia, Indonesia y Viet Nam, entre otros) hacia países de altos ingresos (Singapur, Malasia, la Región Administrativa Especial de Hong Kong, Taiwán Provincia de China, la República de Corea y Japón) intensifica la actual desigualdad de género, injusticia económica y discriminación étnica. Sin embargo, la migración internacional es un proceso contradictorio que, si bien brinda a las mujeres migrantes oportunidades para la movilidad social, también las somete a abusos y explotación. La mayoría de las mujeres migrantes son trabajadoras independientes empleadas por contrato que buscan trabajo en el exterior a fin de aumentar los ingresos familiares y sus ahorros personales. El empoderamiento resulta de su resistencia diaria a las estructuras de poder existentes, así como de la oportunidad de acumular recursos personales y colectivos. El análisis de las políticas de inmigración de Asia y de los patrones de migración de las mujeres revela que existen seis categorías de mujeres migrantes con sus respectivas características: • trabajadoras domésticas • animadoras (trabajadoras sexuales) • trabajadoras no autorizadas • esposas inmigrantes • trabajadoras capacitadas • trabajadoras que comparten un patrimonio étnico con la población que las recibe (como los brasileños de origen japonés en el Japón y los chinos de ascendencia coreana en la República de Corea). Estas seis categorías de mujeres migrantes se diferencian entre sí en razón de las condiciones de traslado al otro país, de empleo y de protección legal, por lo que difieren en cuanto a las formas en que enfrentan las prácticas desiguales y discriminatorias que encuentran en sus lugares de destino. En consecuencia, los ciudadanos conscientes y las organizaciones no gubernamentales recurren a diferentes acciones civiles y contramedidas para mejorar los derechos de las mujeres migrantes. Los gobiernos de los estados importadores de mano de obra del este y sudeste asiáticos tienen niveles distintos de tolerancia política frente a las actividades de la sociedad civil, por lo que existen diferencias importantes en cuanto a las capacidades y los recursos con que cuentan sus sociedades civiles para la acción colectiva. La bibliografía sobre este tema identifica tres niveles de efectividad de las acciones civiles y de la resistencia de la mujer en Asia. El primer nivel agrupa a Singapur y Malasia, donde la aplicación de estrictas políticas de inmigración, rígidos sistemas de contratación laboral y bajos grados de tolerancia del activismo cívico por parte del Estado limitan seriamente las acciones a favor de las trabajadoras migrantes. El segundo nivel reúne al Japón y la República de Corea, donde los estrictos controles fronterizos y las grandes cantidades de trabajadores, combinados con un relativamente alto grado de tolerancia de la acción colectiva, permiten a muchos grupos y organizaciones desafiar la autoridad del Estado y brindar asistencia legal y cultural a los trabajadores migrantes. En el tercer nivel se encuentra la Región Administrativa Especial de Hong Kong, donde, a pesar de una estricta política de inmigración y un rígido sistema de contratación laboral, el legado colonial británico permite a los trabajadores migrantes defender abiertamente sus derechos económicos y emprender acciones colectivas. La frecuencia de las manifestaciones de trabajadoras migrantes, en particular de las trabajadoras domésticas filipinas en Hong Kong, destaca la importancia de establecer redes transnacionales que permitan estrechar los vínculos entre los trabajadores migrantes en los países fuentes de la mano de obra y las naciones receptoras. La creciente presencia de un movimiento transnacional de protección en toda la región de Asia facilita los esfuerzos de las organizaciones civiles por mejorar los derechos y el bienestar de las trabajadoras migrantes. En conclusión, la feminización de la migración ha incrementado la desigualdad y la injusticia basadas en el género, la clase social y la nacionalidad en Asia. Pero al mismo tiempo, ha abierto nuevas oportunidades para que las mujeres migrantes puedan aumentar los ingresos familiares y la creciente sociedad civil de Asia pueda desafiar las políticas y prácticas opresivas que afectan a las trabajadoras migrantes. A pesar de que persisten muchos obstáculos legales e institucionales a la justicia social en los países que importan mano de obra, las acciones civiles de ciudadanos y trabajadores migrantes constituyen un paso importante hacia el reconocimiento de los derechos de las trabajadoras migrantes.Since the 1980s, labour migration has been increasingly feminized in East and Southeast (hereafter E/SE) Asia. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, more than two million women were estimated to be working in the region, accounting for one third of its migrant population. Most female migrants are in reproductive occupations such as domestic work and sex services, in private households and informal commercial sectors. Despite the great need to protect their welfare and human rights, governments of their destination countries view migrants as merely a workforce to meet labour shortages, and ignore protective measures and gender-sensitive policies. Under pressure to increase foreign revenues, labour-source countries encourage their women to migrate and remit their earnings from abroad, but in the face of global competition, governments of source countries have shown little interest in their migrant women’s welfare. In the context of the E/SE Asian countries’ bleak records of human rights practices, non-state actors have assumed increasing importance in advocating migrants’ rights, which they have done through local and transnational networks. Feminized, and therefore gendered, migration in E/SE Asia has its roots in the region’s rapid but uneven economic development, which is characterized by the inequality and conflict that differences of gender, class and nationality produce. The transfer of foreign women within the region from the low-income economies (the Philippines, Indonesia, Viet Nam, Pakistan, Bangladesh among others) to the high-income ones (Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), Taiwan Province of China, the Republic of Korea and Japan) intensifies existing gender inequality, economic injustice and ethnic discrimination. International migration is, however, a contradictory process that, while providing migrant women with opportunities for social mobility, also subjects them to abuses and exploitation. The majority of Asia’s migrant women are independent contract workers seeking employment abroad in order to augment family incomes and personal savings. Empowerment results from their everyday resistance to existing power structures, and from the opportunity to accumulate individual and collective resources. An analysis of Asia’s immigration policies and women’s migration patterns reveals six widely recognized and designated categories and characteristics of the women involved: • domestic workers • entertainers (sex workers)• unauthorized workers • immigrant wives • skilled workers • workers who share an ethnic heritage with that of the host population (such as Japanese-Brazilians in Japan and Korean-Chinese in the Republic of Korea). These six categories of migrant women differ from one another in the conditions of their border crossing, employment and legal protection, and they therefore differ in the ways in which they resist the unequal and discriminatory practices they encounter at their destinations. Consequently, concerned citizens and non-governmental organizations choose different civil actions and counteractive measures to enhance migrant women’s rights. The governments of labour-importing states in E/SE Asia vary in their political tolerance of civil-society activities. There are thus significant differences in the capacities and resources that their civil societies have for collective action. The existing literature indicates three levels of effectiveness of civil actions and women’s resistance in Asia. The first is found in Singapore and Malaysia, where strict immigration policies, rigid labour contract systems and low degrees of state tolerance for civil activism severely curtail pro-migrant actions. The second level characterizes Japan and the Republic of Korea, where tight border controls and large numbers of undocumented workers, combined with relatively high degrees of tolerance for collective action, allow many groups and organizations to challenge state authority and provide legal and cultural assistance to migrants. The third level is manifest in Hong Kong SAR, where despite a strict immigration policy and rigid labour contract system, the British colonial legacy permits migrants to openly pursue economic rights and collective action. The frequency of demonstrations by migrants, especially Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong SAR, highlights the importance of transnational networking that links migrants in sending and receiving countries. The growing presence of a transnational advocacy movement throughout Asia facilitates the efforts of civil organizations to enhance migrants’ rights and welfare. In conclusion, feminized migration has increased inequality and injustice based on gender, class and nationality in Asia. It has also, however, opened up opportunities for migrant women to increase family incomes and for Asia’s growing civil society to challenge oppressive policies and practices affecting migrants. Although many legal and institutional barriers to social justice remain in labour-importing countries, civil actions by citizens and migrants comprise significant steps toward the realization of migrant workers’ rights.Depuis les années 80, les travailleurs migrants en Asie de l’est et du sud-est sont de plus en plus des femmes. Au début du XXIème siècle, on estimait que plus de deux millions de femmes, soit un tiers de la population migrante, travaillaient dans la région. La plupart des immigrées ont des emplois liés à l’économie de reproduction: elles sont employées de maison ou engagées dans l’industrie du sexe, travaillent dans des ménages privés ou le secteur commercial informel. Bien que leur bien-être et leurs droits aient un grand besoin d’être protégés, les gouvernements des pays d’accueil ne voient dans les immigrées qu’une force de travail capable de remédier à la pénurie de main-d’oeuvre et ne se soucient guère de prendre des mesures de protection ou d’appliquer des politiques nuancées selon le sexe. Pressés d’accroître leurs recettes en devises, les pays d’émigration encouragent leurs ressortissantes à émigrer et à rapatrier leurs gains de l’étranger et, face à la concurrence mondiale, leurs gouvernements s’intéressent peu au bien-être de celles qui ont émigré. Vu les pratiques des pays de l’Asie de l’est et du sud-est en matière de droits de l’homme et leur triste bilan dans ce domaine, des acteurs non étatiques ont pris de plus en plus de place dans la défense des droits des migrants, qu’ils assument par le biais de réseaux locaux et transnationaux. La féminisation des migrations en Asie de l’est et du sud-est, avec toutes les spécificités que cela suppose, vient du développement économique rapide mais inégal de la région, qui se caractérise par des disparités et des différences entre sexes, entre classes et entre nationalités qui engendrent des conflits. Les femmes se déplacent à l’intérieur de la région, quittant les pays à faible revenu (Philippines, Thaïlande, Indonésie et Viet Nam notamment) pour les pays à revenu élevé (Singapour, Malaisie, Région administrative spéciale (RAS) de Hong Kong, Province chinoise de Taiwan, République de Corée et Japon) et ce déplacement accentue les inégalités entre les sexes, l’injustice économique et la discrimination ethnique déjà existantes. Les migrations internationales sont cependant des phénomènes contradictoires qui, tout en offrant aux migrantes des chances de mobilité sociale, les exposent en même temps à des abus et à l’exploitation. La majorité des migrantes d’Asie sont des travailleuses contractuelles indépendantes qui cherchent un emploi à l’étranger pour grossir les revenus de leur famille et leur épargne personnelle. Elles acquièrent leur autonomie en résistant jour après jour aux structures de pouvoir en place, et en accumulant tout ce qu’elles peuvent gagner à titre individuel et collectif. Une analyse des politiques migratoires d’Asie et des caractéristiques des migrations féminines fait apparaître six catégories largement reconnues, qui définissent les femmes par des caractéristiques données: • employées de maison • entraîneuses (travailleuses du sexe) • travailleuses clandestines • épouses d’immigrés • travailleuses qualifiées • travailleuses qui ont un patrimoine ethnique commun avec la population du pays d’accueil (tels que les Nippo-Brésiliennes au Japon et les Sino-Coréennes en République de Corée). Ces six catégories de femmes immigrées se distinguent les unes des autres par les conditions dans lesquelles elles ont franchi la frontière, leur emploi et la protection que leur offre la loi et donc aussi par leur mode de résistance aux pratiques inégalitaires et discriminatoires auxquelles elles sont confrontées dans le pays d’accueil. Les modes d’action et de lutte que choisissent les citoyens concernés et les organisations non gouvernementales pour faire valoir les droits des migrantes varient en conséquence. Les gouvernements des Etats de l’Asie de l’est et du sudest qui importent de la main-d’oeuvre tolèrent à des degrés divers les activités de la société civile, de sorte que les capacités et moyens d’action collective dont celle-ci dispose varient sensiblement selon les pays. Il ressort de la littérature existante que l’on peut distinguer trois niveaux d’efficacité parmi les actions tentées par la société civile et la résistance des femmes en Asie. C’est à Singapour et en Malaisie qu’elles sont les moins efficaces: de strictes politiques d’immigration, des systèmes rigides d’attribution de contrats de travail et un Etat peu tolérant envers le militantisme civil réduisent sévèrement les actions de défense des droits des migrantes. Le second niveau correspond au Japon et à la République de Corée, où de sévères contrôles aux frontières et une multitude de travailleuses sans papiers, mais aussi une tolérance assez grande à l’égard de l’action collective, permettent à de nombreux groupes et organisations de contester l’autorité de l’Etat et d’apporter une assistance juridique et culturelle aux migrantes. Le troisième niveau est atteint dans la RAS de Hong Kong où, malgré une politique d’immigration stricte et un système rigide d’attribution des contrats de travail, l’héritage colonial britannique permet aux migrantes de faire valoir ouvertement leurs droits économiques et de mener une action collective. La fréquence des manifestations d’immigrées, en particulier d’employées de maison philippines dans la RAS de Hong Kong, montre l’importance des réseaux transnationaux qui relient les migrantes des pays d’origine et des pays d’accueil. La présence de plus en plus forte d’un mouvement de défense transnational dans toute l’Asie rend plus facile la tâche des organisations civiles qui s’emploient à défendre les droits et le bien-être des migrantes. En conclusion, la féminisation des migrations a aggravé les inégalités et l’injustice fondées sur le sexe, la clase et la nationalité en Asie. Elle a cependant donné aux femmes migrantes la possibilité de grossir les revenus familiaux et a permis à une société civile en expansion en Asie de contester les politiques et pratiques qui ont pour effet d’opprimer les migrants. Bien qu’il reste de nombreux obstacles juridiques et institutionnels à la justice sociale dans les pays importateurs de main-d’oeuvre, certaines des actions menées par les nationaux et les migrants marquent un progrès sensible vers la réalisation des droits des travailleurs migrants

Self-esteem in Children with Psychosomatic Symptoms: Examination of Low Self-esteem and Prognosis

Self-esteem is the evaluative feelings one holds for oneself and the sense that one has essential worth. It is evaluated as the difference between the actual self and the ideal self. Healthy self-esteem supports psychological stability and positive social activity and is an essential element in the psychological development of children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate self-esteem in children with psychosomatic symptoms and elucidate a strategy for using such evaluations in therapy. We evaluated self-esteem in 56 patients at the Department of Pediatrics of Okayama University Hospital who were undergoing outpatient therapy for psychosomatic symptoms, using Pope's 5-scale test of self-esteem for children. We examined patient attributes, course of therapy, and social adjustment. Patients with low self-esteem on multiple scales at the first visit were all female, and these patients had a significantly higher frequency of family function problems, such as a family member with a psychiatric disorder, economic hardship, or experience of child abuse. Moreover, the prognosis for these patients was poor regardless of their social adjustment at the first visit

Efficacy of Oral Care Provided by Interprofessional Collaboration for a Patient with Esophageal Cancer Associated with Post-polio Syndrome during Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

Preoperative oral care is helpful to prevent postoperative complications in patients who are undergoing esophagectomy. Here, we report the case of an 81-year-old Japanese man with an upper limb disability caused by post-polio syndrome who was receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy for esophageal cancer. He had poor oral health status and developed oral complications as a side effect of chemotherapy. He could not brush his teeth by himself. However, infection control by oral care provided by an interprofessional collaboration successfully improved his oral hygiene, and his follow-up involved no severe complications. Interprofessional collaboration is useful especially for patients with upper limb disability

A Study of Psycho-pathology and Treatment of Children with Phagophobia

Phagophobia is a disorder characterized by a conditioned excessive fear of eating and is initiated by an event such as vomiting or choking. During childhood, vomiting often occurs as a result of infection or overeating, and painful experiences bring about maladaptive eating behavior like food refusal. There have been few reports of phagophobia, and patients have sometimes been misdiagnosed with anorexia nervosa (AN). The objective of this study was to elucidate the psycho-pathology and current treatment of patients with phagophobia by analyzing case studies. We describe 6 cases with phagophobia. Patients with strong obsessions were refractory to treatment, indicating that evaluation of premorbid personality is crucial to the prognosis. It is important to classify this disorder according to psycho-pathology into "post-traumatic type" and "gain-from-illness type" to make a treatment plan. A solution focused approach is also effective for patients and their family. Paying close attention to these conditions and to the diagnostic concept referred as "hagophobia" is useful in achieving these aims

Maximal expiratory flow-volume patterns in airway allergy.

We considered upper and lower airway allergies as different phases of airway allergy and MEFV patterns to vary according to the intensity of airway obstruction in maximal expiratory flow-volume and volume-time tests on fourteen patients with nasal allergy, two with allergic bronchitis, two with bronchial asthma, and sixteen nonsmoking healthy subjects. In nasal allergy, flow changes during high lung volumes were different from those in allergic bronchitis and bronchial asthma, and MEFV patterns in nasal allergy were more widely varied than those in allergic bronchitis and bronchial asthma. We classified MEFV patterns into five ones.</p

An epidemiological study on anemia among institutionalized people with intellectual and/or motor disability with special reference to its frequency, severity and predictors

BACKGROUND: To examine the type, frequency, severity, and predictors of anemia and its relationship with co-morbid conditions among institutionalized people with intellectual and/or motor disability. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study at a public facility for people with intellectual and/or motor disability in Ibaraki prefecture, Japan. Health checkup data obtained in 2001 from 477 people with intellectual disability (male: 286, average age 40.6 ± 12.3; female: 191, average age 45.1 ± 11.6) were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: The prevalence of anemia among male participants was higher than in female participants for each disability category (intellectual disability, 41.1%, 4.2%; cerebral palsy, 37.5%, 4.8%; Down's syndrome, 15.0%, 0%; severe motor and intellectual disabilities, 61.9%, 16.7%). Most participants with anemia (93.8 – 100%) showed a normocytic normochromic anemia pattern. Multivariate analysis revealed that factors related to an increase in frequency included sex (male), low body mass index (BMI), use of anticonvulsants or major tranquilizers, and a high zinc sulfate turbidity test (ZTT) value. No clinically diagnosed co-morbid condition was found to be related to the presence of anemia. CONCLUSION: A high frequency of mild normocytic normochromic anemia in institutionalized people with intellectual and/or motor disability was observed, particularly among males. Medications and chronic inflammation may increase the risk of anemia

Association of dietary fiber intake with subsequent fasting glucose levels and indicators of adiposity in school-age Japanese children

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the relationships of fiber intake with subsequent body mass index SD-score, waist-to-height ratio, and serum fasting glucose levels among school-age Japanese children. Design: A prospective study of school-age Japanese children. Participants were followed from 6–7 to 9–10 years of age (follow-up rate: 92.0%). Fiber intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Serum fasting glucose was measured by a hexokinase enzymatic method. Using a general linear model, the associations between dietary fiber intake at baseline and body mass index SD-score, waist-to-height ratio, and serum levels of fasting glucose at follow-up were evaluated after considering potential confounding factors. Setting: Public elementary schools in a city in Japan Participants: A total of 2,784 students. Results: The estimated means for fasting glucose at 9–10 years of age were 86.45, 85.68, 85.88, and 85.58 mg/dl in the lowest, second, third, and highest quartile of fiber intake at 6–7 years of age, respectively (p= 0.033, trend p= 0.018). Higher fiber intake at 6–7 years of age was associated with lower waist-to-height ratio at 9–10 years of age (trend p= 0.023). The change in fiber intake was inversely associated with concurrent change of body mass index SD-score (trend p= 0.044). Conclusion: These results suggest that dietary fiber intake may be potentially effective to limit excess weight gain and lower glucose levels during childhood

Financial Self-Help Associations among Far West Nepalese Labor Migrants in Delhi, India

Labor migration to India is the most important source of income for people in Far West Nepal. To better understand the effects of labor migration, a research analyzing why and how migrants invest their money in financial self-help organizations was undertaken. Fieldwork was conducted in the communities of origin in Nepal and migrant communities in India. Based on the study, the paper provides an overview of the existing financial self-help associations, their strengths and weaknesses, accessibility and possibilities of benefits and losses for the migrants and their families. The major conclusion is that migration helps to improve income or security but can also undermine a household's financial situation by perpetuating debt and dependency