FILIPINA SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE NEGOTIATING FAMILY VALUES
A thesis submitted to the faculty of A 5 San Francisco State University (j, In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree E T H S I • V35 Master of Arts
In
Ethnic Studies
by
Daphnee Marie Galvante Valdez
San Francisco, California
Fall 2016 Copyright by Daphnee Marie Galvante Valdez 2016 CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL
I certify that I have read Filipina Survivors of Sexual Violence Negotiating Family
Values by Daphnee Marie Galvante Valdez, and that in my opinion this work meets the criteria for approving a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree Master of Arts in Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University.
Eric J. Pido, Ph.D. Assistant Professor
'-JVU ------Mai-Nhung Le/t)rPH, MPH Professor FILIPINA SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE NEGOTIATING FAMILY VALUES
Daphnee Marie Galvante Valdez San Francisco, California 2016
According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Filipinos are the second largest Asian ethnic group in California and while multiple studies have shown that Asian/Asian American women, including Filipina/Filipina Americans, underreport sexual violence and underutilize therapy and/or counseling, research is lacking. The Filipino culture is collectivist, centered on the family. And in instances of sexual violence, Filipina survivors face challenging healing processes. Through qualitative in-depth interviews with eight self-identified Filipina survivors of sexual violence, ages 18 years of age or older, mostly from the San Francisco Bay Area, they share their stories and how they negotiate a contradictory patriarchal triangle of the Filipino family, historical Spanish Catholicism, and the pressures of American assimilation. Key findings illuminate how Filipina survivors of sexual violence negotiate a triangle of contradictions through their understandings of the Filipino family, healing processes, identity formation, and overall visions of this work.
I certify that the Abstract is a correct representation of the content of this thesis
Chair, Thesis Committee Date ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This project would not have possible without the bravery and elegance of the participants, your willingness to be vulnerable and give strength to other Filipina survivors of sexual violence. You are the kayumanggi, “beautiful brown of the Earth.” Thank you College of Ethnic Studies, staff, professors, and students. Thank you Dr. Chew for your unconditional support and tough love. Thank you Dr. Pido, my mentor, Kuya, for developing my academic voice and overall encouragement to finish this thesis. Thank you Professor Le for always believing in me and reminding me about self-care. Thank you to my family and friends for your love and patience. Thank you to my partner, Eric Chan for never failing to guide me through trials and tribulations. Thank you mommy and daddy; your resilience and unbreakable love are my first teachings of life. I never forget the obstacles we’ve overcome that have made it possible for me to reach for higher education and my passions. Thank you to many angels who have returned to the Earth and sky, who have guided me through this whole journey, especially my “big sister” Michelle Le, 156. What I do in life is always a reflection of my family, ancestry, and legacy.
v TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Figures...... viii
List of Appendices...... ix
Introduction...... 1
Chapter One: Literature Review...... 7
Part I: Sexual Violence...... 7
General Studies About Sexual Violence...... 7
Asian/Asian American Community And Sexual Violence...... 9
Filipino/Filipino Americans Community And Sexual Violence...... 18
Part II: The Filipino Family...... 25
Chapter Two: Methodology...... 33
Chapter Three: Analysis and Findings ...... 39
Part I: Filipino Family Values...... 40
Hiya, Utang Na Loob, Pakikisama...... 40
Catholicism...... 45
Matriarchy and Egalitarian...... 49
Part II: Sexual Violence Survivorship...... 51
Lack of Agency: Child Sexual Abuse...... 51
Lack of Agency : Intoxication/Drugged...... 56
Disassociation...... 56
Violation/Anger...... 5 8 Family Disclosure and Seeking Support...... 60
Non-Disclosure...... 61
Forced Disclosure...... 64
Disclosure By Choice...... 70
Practicing Sexual Agency As A Survivor...... 71
Exploration and Risk-Taking...... 72
Confusion...... 74
Relationships and Trust...... 75
Part III: Filipina Identity...... 78
Women As Center...... 78
Self-Determination...... 79
Sisterhood...... 80
Part IV: Messages From The “ Kayumanggi”...... 82
Sharing...... 83
Education...... 85
Seek Support...... 87
Family and Friends...... 89
Forgiveness...... 90
Chapter Four: Conclusion...... 92
Reference...... 96
Appendices...... 102 LIST OF FIGURES
Figures Page
1. Figure 1...... 6 LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix Page
1. Protocol...... 93 2. NIH Certificate of Completion...... 114 3. NIH Certificate of Completion...... 115 1
INTRODUCTION
“My grandmother would say, ‘why do you let your dad come into your bedroom at night?’ She was victim shaming me [...] She was my guardian [...] telling me it’s my fault, hence it must be my fault [...] That’s my twisted thinking [...] I grew up with this belief, unfortunately, that I was a slut.” - Participant 1.
This participant’s vignette exemplifies what some Filipina survivors of sexual violence experience. In the United States, approximately one in two women experienced sexual violence1 and about one in five women reported rape.2 Studies have shown that
Asian/Pacific Islander women have the lowest percentage of reported sexual violence.3
Filipina survivors of sexual violence negotiate a contradictory patriarchal triangle of the
Filipino family, historical Spanish Catholicism, and the pressures of American assimilation which complicate their healing processes that includes barriers with help- seek, identity, and sexual agency (see figure 1). One part of the triangle is the Filipino family is often understood through Eurocentric colonial psychology as a triad of values: hiya (shame), utang na loob (indebtedness from within), and pakikisama (group
‘“Nearly 1 in 2 women (44.6%) and 1 in 5 men (22.2%) experienced sexual violence victimization other than rape at some point in their lives (Tables 2.1 and 2.2). This equates to more than 53 million women and more than 25 million men in the United States. Approximately 1 in 20 women (5.6%) and men (5.3%) experienced sexual violence victimization other than rape in the 12 months prior to taking the survey” (Basile, Black, Breiding, Chen, Merrick, Smith, Stevens, 2011, p. 19). 2 “Nearly 1 in 5 (18.3%) women and 1 in 71 men (1.4%) reported experiencing rape at some time in their lives” (Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). 3 “Just under half of Black non-Hispanic (41.0%), White non- Hispanic (47.6%), and American Indian or Alaska Native (49.0%) women reported sexual violence other than rape in their lifetime and more than half of multiracial non- Hispanic women (58.0%) reported these experiences in their lifetime. Approximately 1 in 3 Hispanic (36.1%) and Asian or Pacific Islander (29.5%) women reported sexual violence other than rape” (Basile et al., 2011, p. 20). 2
harmony), while being associated with stress and depression (David, 2011). An additional part is the impeding Catholic religion that is commonly gendered as it works to control
Filipinas and their sexual agency, promoting chastity, and martyrdom. This is also known as the “Dalagang Pilipina” (proper Filipina woman). Though these two can be functionally accepted in the Philippines, the pressures of assimilation into America increase the need for Filipinas to negotiate what it means to be American: language, education, and sexual liberation. These three constructions: the Filipino family,
Catholicism, and assimilation are further complicated when a Filipina experiences sexual violence. Through the shared stories of Filipina survivors of sexual violence, they illuminate their understanding of the Filipino family, healing processes, identity formation, and visions of this thesis as they navigation through a paradoxical triangle.
Within Filipino families, women are expected to carry on cultural traditions and raise the next generations (Espiritu, 2000, p. 424). The expectations placed on Filipinas are often further complicated by the historical influence of conservative Catholicism. For example, in order for Filipinas to be considered a respectable member of their families, they must remain a virgin, obedient, and place their entire family’s needs over theirs
(Espiritu, 2001, p. 422; Natividad, Marquez, Tan as cited in Delgado-Infante & Ofreneo,
2014, p. 392). And therefore, when sexual violence occurs, the Filipina’s hopes to maintain an image of an the ideal Filipina, carrying on the responsibility to maintain their culture, and properly raise future generations become overshadowed by shame. This forces Filipinas to construct an identity beyond the traditional image of the ideal Filipina 3
(La Flair et al, 2008, p. 253). As such, in order for Filipina survivors of sexual violence to
develop a healthy sense of womanhood, they must first navigate beyond their Filipino
family values.
In order to understand the Filipina, it is necessary to begin with a historical
context. The “tao” (people), later called Filipinos, originally descended from egalitarian
and matriarchal systems where women were held in high regard and were often seen as
spiritual leaders (Halili, 2004 as cited in David p. 32). These roles dramatically shifted
during the four centuries of Spanish colonization, resulting in the intensification of
patriarchal hierarchies. In order to sustain these patriarchal values, Spaniards used
Catholicism to perpetuate the idea that man is inherently greater than woman (Hune &
Nomura, 2003, p.52).
After the Spanish-American War of 1898, the Spanish relinquished their colony to
the United States. The subsequent generations of mostly single, male Filipino immigrant
‘American nationals’ were subjected to unjust labor conditions, racial slurs, and the larger
impact of socio-economic globalization, which forced many Filipinas to not only oversee
household affairs but become breadwinners (Takaki, 1989, p. 315, p. 325; Roces, 1995;
Agbayani-Siewert, 1997; Parrenas, 2007). As a result of these histories of colonization,
Filipinos were continually forced to reconcile their identities with various cultural
systems in order to maintain their indigenous values.
Throughout these processes, Filipinas have also experienced their own periods of reconciliation and transformation. Where once Filipinas were held in high regard as 4
babaylan (healers), their role in society shifted towards the Philippine Catholic virgin image of “Maria Clara” during Spanish colonial period (Roces, 2015, p. 193). In addition to this, the Filipina, like many other Asian women and women of color in general, were subjected to Eurocentric, patriarchal stereotypes “...racialized as sexually immoral...- and its women [used as].. .power fantasies, replete with lurid images of sexual license, gynecological abrasions, and general perversion” (Gilman as cited in Espiritu, 2001, p.
425). These intertwining cultural values and societal expectations made the idea of whom she should be and how she should be valued became complex and confusing. For many
Filipinas, their womanhood is a constant battle between egalitarian indigenous values and the patriarchal values posited during colonization (Nydegger & Nydegger, 1966 & Pido,
1986 as cited in Agbayani-Siewert, 1994, p.433-434). Finally, Filipina womanhood is further complicated by sexual violence, forcing them to navigate and negotiate layers of
Filipino family values in order to make new meanings of themselves and their place in the world.
The goal of this thesis is to document the experiences of Filipinas survivors, creating a platform for them to be heard as they negotiate between sexual violence and a triad of contradictions, such as, their understandings of the Filipino family, healing processes, identity formation, and overall visions of this work. This thesis also examines the agency Filipina survivors of sexual violence, how they choose to disclose or not disclose to their families or social services, and their whole sense of identity. 5
Within the state of California, Filipinos are the largest Asian ethnic group totaling at 1,474,707 people (U.S. Census 2010). This is a great feat since historically,
Filipino/Filipino Americans were part of decades of anti-Asian sentiment and exclusion as “.. .stereotypes and myths of Asian as aliens and foreigners are pervasive in American society” (Takaki, 1989, p. 6). Therefore the significance of this study is the in-depth analysis of shared stories from Filipina survivors of sexual violence and their navigation through the Filipino family, Catholicism, and assimilation. The major contribution of this study is to create a platform for the voices of Filipina survivors to be heard while highlighting the significant influences of cultural and familial values for these women.
Despite the challenges they experience, their resilience in the face of deeply complex
Filipino family values, religion, assimilation, and their commitment to thrive, exemplifies their strength and profound effort to promote a sense of collectivity and advocacy.
The rest of this thesis is divided into four chapters. Chapter one provides an extensive review of the literature on sexual violence, Asian/Asian Americans and sexual violence, and Filipino/Filipino American perceptions/experiences of sexual violence. In addition to this, it includes literature about the Filipino family. Chapter two contains a description of the methodology used to recruit participants, conduct in-depth interview process, and a discussion of the limitations and bias of this research. Chapter three lays out the analysis of data and findings that include participant definitions of the Filipino family, stories of sexual violence survivorship, Filipina identity formation, and messages 6
to society and other survivors of sexual violence. Finally, chapter four provides summary of key concepts, findings, and further implications of this study.
Hiya (shame) Pakiksama (group Dalagang Pilipina harmony) (“Proper Filipina Woman”) Utang Na Loob (reciprocity)
Figure 1. Competing cultural value system confronting Filipina survivors of sexual violence (developed in collaboration with Eric J. Pido). 7
CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW
Sexual violence and the Filipino family have deeply examined within the fields of psychology and sociology. The goal of this thesis is to explore the relationship between
Filipina survivors of sexual violence and how they negotiate the Filipino family through the influences of Catholicism and assimilation. In order to understand this relationship, it is critical to begin by contextualizing the perceptions of sexual violence and Filipino family values within Filipino American communities. This literature review is organized
into two parts. Part I discusses the general scholarship about sexual violence followed by research centered on sexual violence of Asian/Asian American and Filipino/Filipino
American communities. Part II lays out how the Filipino family has been studied.
Part I: Sexual Violence
General Studies About Sexual Violence
General scholarship about sexual violence has heavily been studied through a
Behavioral Science lens that tends to lack cultural understandings of ethnic minorities.
Awareness about sexual and domestic violence was birthed out of the 1970’s Women’s
Movement, which also fought for other issues such as women’s reproductive rights and equitable pay. Richard J. Gelles (1977) used this momentum to bring marital rape to the
forefront during a time when it was not considered a crime. This social movement helped to allow women to assert their experiences of intimate partner violence and marital rape during a period of time when husband had immense power in the marital relationship. 8
Jeff Hearn (1988) studies sexual violence and child abuse provided significant contributions to this literature. Similar to Gelles’ (1977), Hearn examined the historical power of men over children and women and extended this discussion on power dynamics by breaking down how these structures play out in sexual violence within families. Hearn explains:
The historical establishment of public patriarchy is a profoundly contradictory
political process: on the one hand, it represents the structural means of increasing
men's power over and oppression of women; on the other, in overriding the
private father, it is a potential means of controlling men's private violence, in
incest, rape, and domestic violence (p. 541).
Both authors wanted to bring sexual violence against women and children to the forefront and advocate for these survivors while understanding the importance of contextualizing the issue of power on both micro and macro scales.
Related to these studies, Lorenne M. G. Clark’s (1989) Canadian based research agrees with Gelles (1977) and Hearn’s (1988) discussion about how complex the private and public sphere in relation to sexual violence. Clark (1989), however, specifically analyzed social services’ and the criminal justice systems for their lack of recognition of sexual violence, especially marital rape. Gelles (1977), Hearn (1988), and Clark (1989) all researched the controversial and the highly important issue of sexual violence against women and children but lacked the inclusive scope of marginalized ethnic groups. 9
Within Susan B. Sorenson’s (1990) work, the author noticed that a significant amount of research on familial and sexual violence focused on White, European
Americans and few on other ethnic groups and chose to research ethnic differences between survivors of sexual violence. Sorenson (1990) was critical of these previous studies, stating that it is highly important that researched be more inclusive since demographics are showing a rise of communities of color. For example, the author states that, “...highly populated states such as California, home to 1 of every 12 U.S. residents, where ‘minorities’ comprise the emerging majority” (p. 125). The author found that
“many women of color reported that if resources were not respectful of their ethnic group, they either did not seek such services or used them only briefly”, and so emphasizing the need for public policy, social services, and the general public to understand the value of ethnically and culturally aware research on sexual violence or risk harming a growing population of people (p. 131).
Asian/Asian American Community And Sexual Violence
Similar to previous studies on sexual violence, sexual violence and the
Asian/Asian American community has mostly been studied through the field psychology.
One of the most prevalent threads between these studies focuses on underreporting and survivor feelings of shame. Like many other marginalized groups, enslaved
African/African Americans and the genocide of Natives Americans, Asian/Asian
Americans in the United States have experienced extreme exclusions despite their 10
immense contributions to building America (Takaki, 1989). Seeing the demand for labor in America, Asian migrants were met with racism as White “Employers... [paid] Asian laborers less than white workers...” (p. 13). In addition to this, racist policies were enacted such as the “Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882,” which restricted Chinese migrants and denied them citizenship. Later, the “National Origins Act of 1924” barred and limited the migration of Japanese people, authorizing the entry of European immigrants, and denying entry of Asian women (p. 14 & p. 207).
This history profoundly impacted the experiences and perceptions of sexual violence within the Asian/Asian American community. Parallel to Sorenson’s (1990) research, M. Alexis Kennedy and Boris B. Gorzalka’s (2002) comparative, quantitative study explored Asian and non-Asian college students in Canada on their perceptions of sexuality and sexual violence. They found that male respondents, more than both Asian and non-Asian female respondents, maintained beliefs in certain rape myths such as,
“When women go around braless or wearing short skirts and tight tops, they are just asking for trouble” (p. 230). They also found that Asian respondents were more tolerant of rape myths than non-Asians. However, the longer that these Asian males resided in
Canada, this study found that they were less tolerant of these rape myths. Overall, these researchers discovered that Asian students were more conservative in their sexual attitudes compared to non-Asian students. This research and findings can provide insight into how migration, which brings migrant cultures into a new country, complicates their navigation through cultural norms and assimilation. 11
A corresponding study by Joohee Lee, Elizabeth Pomeroy, and Seo-Koo Yoo
(2005) surveys Asian and Caucasian college students in the United States about their attitudes toward rape. Their conclusion parallels Kennedy and Gorzalka’s (2002) work about Asian students supporting rape myths more than non-Asians. However, Lee et al.
(2005) discusses the importance of cultural influences on Asian students’ responses, such as, their value on chastity. They further explain how these values impact Asian survivors of sexual violence. They argue “.. .a stronger belief in victim blaming attitudes.. .may contribute to Asian victims being less likely to tell someone about their experiences, report the incident to the police, or seek treatment” (p. 192). Though there are instances of victim shaming within the Asian/Asian American community, it is important to continue to note that these are effects of public patriarchy giving permission to private patriarchy.
Although Lee et al. (2005) and Kennedy and Gorzalka’s (2002) comparative research on Asian versus non-Asian college students’ and their attitudes toward sexual violence added to a missing body of research about cultural conservatism and shifts in attitude the longer one stays in America, Heather L. Littleton, Amie Grills-Taquechel,
Katherine S. Buck, Lindsey Rosman, and Julia C. Dodd (2013) enhance this discussion by focusing on the survivors themselves. They look at four ethnic groups of college women that included Latinas, African Americans, Asian Americans and European
Americans, and the relationship between sexual violence and health risk behavior.
According to their study, Asian American women underreport sexual assault compared to 12
European American women. They “did not find any evidence.. .that Asian American women are at lower risk of experiencing alcohol-related assaults” since there was similar use of alcohol as Latina and European American survivors of sexual violence (p. 16).
While this research was more ethnically specific and inclusive, the authors agree that more studies on ethnic groups and “sexual behaviors” need to be conducted to further support these marginalized populations (p. 17).
Along with cultural values, larger societal systems also impact the relationship between the Asian/Asian American community and sexual violence. Thema Bryant-
Davis, Heewoon Chung, and Shaquita Tillman (2009) would challenge the work of
Littleton et al. (2013) by examining the oppressive systems that ethnic minority survivors of sexual violence experience, ethnic minorities such as: Native Americans, African
Americans, Latinas and Asian Americans. The researchers, referring to the intersectionality of oppressive systems, state that, “Ethnic minority women in the United
States are often confronted with the realities of historical... and... contemporary trauma of societal oppression such as racism and poverty” (346). And despite historical racist exclusion legislation on Asian immigration, the researchers add that Asians are one of the most rapidly growing immigrant populations. Yet, they often have the lowest rate of mental health utilization and the least likely to report sexual violence (p. 336). And as previous scholarship explain how Asian cultural values of chastity create a problem of underreporting, Bryant-Davis et al (2009) also argue that “many Asian Americans place cultural and social pressure on victims to endure suffering in silence” and are advised 13
against disclosing sexual violence to others including clinicians. The researchers also importantly note that the need for immigrant populations to assimilate and blend into
American society prevents many Asian Americans from outing any issues that may negatively impact this process (Dussich, 2001; Sue, 1994 as cited in Bryant-Davis et al,
2009, p. 339).
Research centered on the Asian/Asian American community and sexual violence provides more of an intersectional lens of study through culture, immigration, history, gender, ethnicity and race. Kristine Toshiko Futa, Eugenia Hsu, and David J. Hansen’s
(2001) study focuses on child sexual violence within Asian American families and agrees with previous work that mentions a lack of studies on different ethnic groups. Similarly,
Futa et al. (2001) found that Asian Americans underreported sexual violence and saw that the Asian American community had higher chances of believing in rape myths, such as the belief that only strangers commit sexual violence rather than family members or close friends (p. 192). Futa et al. (2001) discussed how Asian values, such as, collectivity, conformity, shame, and chastity, in addition to language barriers, effect Asian American survivors’ underutilization of mental health resources, since they have a tendency of staying silent and fear disrupting the harmony of the family.
Parallel to Futa et al.’s (2001) study, Mo Yee Lee and Phyllis F. M. Law
(2002), survey Asian American women about their perceptions of sexual violence and the barriers they face in seeking help. Examples include, ‘“feeling shame,’ ‘negative reactions from others,’ and ‘lacking information.’” When looking at who these women 14
sought help from, if they chose to, they found that the Asian American survivors preferred to speak to family and friends first (p. 16). Both studies provide information on the impact of language barriers and cultural values on underreporting and underutilization of mental health resources. This is also in addition to societal pressures to blend into
American culture, as migrants make efforts to not be “othered” or further stereotyped.
In a psychological study, Lareina N. La Flair, Debra L. Franko, and David B.
Herzog (2008), focuses on eating disorders, such as bulimia and anorexia, as one of the more common coping mechanisms for some Asian American survivors of sexual violence. In addition to this, they wanted to answer why so many Asian American survivors were underreporting and not seeking social services, concurring with other research that Asian values of chastity, saving face and maintaining familial harmony influence their choices of disclosure (p. 248). Furthermore La Flair et al (2008) state that women’s bodies are highly sexualized and policed by larger societal gender norms. For marginalized women of color, prevailing cultural values intertwine with their sexualization, racialization, and economic status, which further contribute to their
“psychological...and internalized stress” (p.253). In addition to this, influences such as immigration, historically based on race, class, and gender, affect Asian women’s survivorship.
With the development of more inclusive, ethnic-focused research on sexual violence, which contextualizes sexual violence within systems of oppression, it is important to discuss research on Asian immigrant survivors of sexual violence. Two 15
bodies of research explore the complexity of sexual violence within South Asian immigrant populations, gender roles and the pressures of American assimilation. South
Asians, like Filipino, Korean, Japanese and Chinese groups, have also been barred from
American citizenship, such as in the case of the 1923 “U.S. v. Bhagat Singh Thind\ which denied Asians Indians American citizenship (Takaki, 1989, p. 299). Abraham’s
(1999) socio-anthropological study, consisting of in-depth multilingual interviews with
South Asian wives who experienced marital sexual violence, emphasizes the importance of conducting research through an intersectional lens, gender, race, “ethnicity and class,” since the immigrant process contains the person’s cultural values, assimilation, and adjusting to the new country (p. 592).
Margaret Abraham (1999) echoes previous sexual violence studies that convey how public patriarchy enables men’s private control over women, especially in
“...the [South Asian] gendered construction of the family” and marriages (p. 599). The author notes the dilemma of institutionalized subordination of women in South Asia since the Indian rape law defined rape as penile-vaginal penetration and no other acts and that within marriage, the wife, “property” of the husband, is therefore consenting to everything, including marital rape. Abraham (1999) links the subordination of South
Asian women in India and racism in the United States result in higher rates of sexual violence compared to American women. And similar to other Asian survivors of sexual violence, South Asian women also often remain silent “because they may be socialized to 16
believe that they have fewer sexual rights than their husbands” (Ho, 1990; Lum, 1998 as cited in Abraham, 1999, p. 602 & 605).
Comparably, Farah Ahmad, Natasha Driver, Mary Jane McNally, and Donna E.
Stewart (2009), discuss the historical subordination of South Asian women, but lengthen
Abraham’s (1999) work by focusing on why these survivors of sexual violence remain silent. This psychological Canadian based study investigated the various reasons for
South Asian women’s lack of help seek, such as “...social stigma; women’s gender roles
(silence, marriage obligations, subordination); children’s well-being; [and] lack of social support...” (p. 617). Ahmad et al. (2009) also found that South Asian survivors placed a high value on service providers that they could trust, were non-judgmental, and were female. Both studies explore the complexity of South Asian immigrant survivors of sexual violence, emphasizing the immigrant experience, and using testimonies to bring marginalized women to the center of scholarly focus.
Research conducted on Asian “Comfort Women” before and during World War
II, used survivor testimonies to bring forth an ignored time in history. During the War, the Japanese Imperial Army kidnapped “Comfort Women” from places such as Korea,
China, the Philippines, Japan and Europe and abused them as sex-slaves for soldiers. Up until recently, the Japanese government refused to recognize this period of brutal violence and provide reparations to survivors. Yuki Terazawa’s (2006) work sheds light on redress cases “.. .launched by women in rural Shanxi province in the People’s
Republic of China... [where] Shanxi women had to develop their movement without 17
strong government and grassroots support” (133). The goal of this recent study is to create global awareness around the lack of redress and legal winnings for Shanxi
“Comfort Women.”
Similarly, Yap Watanabe’s (1995) study examines the history of “Jugun Ianfu” or military comfort women He describes the structure of “Comfort Stations,” where women were divided by hierarchal order: class, race, and nationality. For example,
Korean women were forced to serve lower ranked officers while Japanese and European women were allocated to higher ranked officers. Contrary to Terazawa’s (2006) specific research, Watanabe (1995) discusses the link between “Comfort Women” and the more contemporary Japayukisan (sex workers) sharing stories of Asian women from places such as Thailand who are recruited into indentured servitude (p. 505). And while
Terazawa (2006) mainly focus on survivors and solider testimonies, Watanabe (1995) breaks down the structural systems that fuel this sexual violence. For example, the
“Confucian ideology...[which] promotes...the patriarchal system in Asian countries... [prioritizes] women’s chastity...” and overall belief that women are property of men, in addition to “colonialism, capitalism, sexism and racism...” (p. 507 & p. 512).
Both Terazawa (2006) and Watanabe’s (1995) work aims to promote gender equality and end sexual violence through survivor movements and testimonies. They also thoroughly examine and connect the impact of larger oppressive systems that justified wartime sexual violence of Asian women. 18
Filipino/Filipino American Community And Sexual Violence
Filipino/Filipino Americans have a unique history in the Untied States compared
to other Asian ethnic groups since they were granted more rights as colonial subjects.
When the United States acquired the Philippines after the Spanish-American war,
Filipinos, ineligible of naturalization, were still granted some rights as ‘American
nationals’ (Takaki, 1989, p. 315). The migration of Filipino women to the U.S., in
particular, was limited. When they did migrate, it was often to places such as Hawaii
since plantation workers were encouraged to have families and “Filipino men [who had
families were] more reliable workers”. Yet, anti-Asian sentiments, the historical
influence of 400 years of Spanish colonization, and Catholicism, Filipinas where
monitored and barred from migrating into America since values of patriarchal hierarchies
limited their independence which shows that Filipinas faced exclusion through both race
and gender (p. 58).
Similar to previous research on the redress movements of “Comfort Women”,
Katharina R. Mendoza (2003) discusses the historical background of the Japanese
Imperial Army institutionalizing brothels or “Comfort Stations”, reparation movements,
and testimonies of survivors. Contrary to their research, Mendoza (2003), noting the lack
of research on Filipina “Comfort Women”, looks at the autobiography of the first known
Filipina comfort women. She describes the story of Maria Rosa Henson who was
abducted at the age of 16 and spent nine months in military brothels (p. 248). Mendoza
(2003) explains that there were significant differences between Philippine government’s 19
lack of support for comfort women compared to Korea and Taiwan. She argues that the lack of recognition “...is thought by Filipino activists to have come from state officials’ fear of losing valuable Japanese investments... [and] today there is lukewarm state support for the Philippine comfort women movement” (p. 262). Mendoza’s (2003) work adds to a small but valuable body of research, highlighting the Filipina testimonies of comfort women and social movements demanding to recognize their traumatic experiences.
Based on journalism and the field of women’s studies, Ninotchka Rosea (1995) and Mina Roces’ (2009) critical research about the sex industry in the Philippines provide different perspectives to mostly quantitative, psychology-based research. Rosea’s (1995) article conveys the history and lack of recognition of Filipina laborers, specifically in the more recent sex industry, which is the “...second most likely employer of overseas
Filipinas” (p. 524). Numerous murders of Filipina overseas workers are what Rosea
(1995) calls “...the pattern o f‘normal’ violence,” where Filipina caretakers and mail order brides are being abused and killed (p. 524). She claims that the historical roots and ongoing economic instability of the Philippines causes the exporting of Filipino laborers, weaving together the policies implemented by the re-elected 1969 President Ferdinand
Marcos, to the historical colonization of Spanish patriarchal gender roles, and American military bases which she claims leads to “the destruction of ethical norms by colonization so complete that even Catholic parents encourage the traffic of their daughters” (p. 524).
Rosea (1995) uses journalism to focus on forgotten sexual violence stories of exported 20
Filipina laborers. Echoing this research, Roces (2009) focuses on women’s advocacy and
“victim narratives” of prostituted women in the Philippines. Her study looks at how women’s rights organizations such as the “Third World Movement Against the
Exploitation of Women” outreached to Filipina sex workers, encouraging them to share their stories, in order to regain their agency. Similar to Rosea’s (1995) brief comments about the historical impact of gender roles and patriarchy, Roces (2009) explains how the roles of wives and mothers are constructed. According to her study, Filipina laborers were placed in charge of “household affairs... the family’s economic, spiritual and physical life” where a woman’s sacrifice for the family was acknowledged as a “martyr.”
This image was directly influenced by Christian views around women (p. 272). She studies how women empowerment organizations enabled these women to share their stories, claiming that this “altered cultural constructions of the feminine...‘martyr’” to activists (p. 278). Rosea (1995) and Roces’ (2009) radical research on the sex industry in the Philippines was meant to bring awareness to the historical influences of Catholic patriarchal colonization and Capitalist politics in hopes of changing policies by providing more insight into Filipina survivors of sexual violence, transnational struggles, and womanhood.
Other Philippine-based research focuses on Filipino and Filipina adolescents and their experiences of sexual violence. Laurie Serquina-Ramiro (2005) studies adolescent attitudes towards intimate relationships and “sexual coercion” (p. 476). Extensively looking at the courting process for adolescent intimate relationships, she explains how 21
Filipino gender roles place women in the passive position while men are expected to be in control. She discusses how these “traditional” roles are challenged by youth who are exposed to Western ideals, immigration, the Internet, and women empowerment movements (p. 476 - 477). She looks at respondent definitions of intimacy, sexual coercion: setting, frequency, development, and consequences, revealing that respondents believed that sexual coercion is inevitable. Using this logic, Serquina-Ramiro questions how these beliefs might influence institutional processes throughout Philippine society such as the prosecution of perpetrators (p. 493). She concludes by arguing the need for more adolescent sex education in the Philippines in order to promote the ideas of consent and practices of healthy boundary setting. However, though these gender norms that monitor the sex and sexuality of Filipinas may be acceptable and functional in the
Philippines, experiences of Filipina Americans add another layer of complexity as they now face mixed messages of American sexual agency, the knowledge and freedom to be an active sexual being.
In another study looking at adolescents, Ede Hulipas Terol (2009) examines the survivorship of girls with mental retardation in the Philippines. Conducting in-depth interviews, Terol (2009) was able to explore the experiences of these girls, family involvement, and legal processes. Similar to Serquina-Ramiro’s (2005) findings, Terol argues that Philippine culture has a tendency of tolerating sexual violence, which stems from power dynamics within the family, increasing the chances of incest and decreasing disclosure (p. 212). Based off of her findings, Terol (2009) found that a majority of the 22
girls knew the perpetrator and most families were involved in seeking support for their daughter but that some families experienced issues with financial support, feelings of fear and others sought forgiveness. She disclosed the repercussions these girls experienced, which included dropping out of school because of fear of the perpetrator, finances or
‘mental deficiency’ (p. 215). These two bodies of research focus on Filipino/a adolescents and sexual violence in order to promote more education and advocacy for youth by contextualizing violence in social and cultural constructions of gender roles and power dynamics. And though Filipino families were influenced by societal acceptance of sexual violence, this impacted their feelings of suffering in silence and shame, which continue to maintain the patriarchal systems.
As scholars contextualize how gender roles are constructed in the Filipino culture, they often attribute Filipino perceptions of and experiences with sexual violence to
Filipino culture. Pauline Agbayani-Siewert and Alice Yick Flanagan (2000), conducted surveys and focus groups with Filipino American college undergraduates on their attitudes toward dating violence. They found many similarities between Filipino women and men’s perceptions of dating violence as they correlated it more to physical and sexual
“aggressive behaviors” than psychological aggression (p. 124). Yet Filipina survivors of dating violence felt “fault-finding and controlling” more abusive than men (p. 128). Like previous findings, shame or as Agbayani-Siewert and Flanagan (2000) state in the
Filipino Tagalog dialect, “hiya.. .and tayo-tayo (just among us) may create barriers in reporting abuse and seeking available services” (p. 128). They coincide with Rosea 23
(1995) and Roces’ (2009) work on Filipina gender roles by describing the historical contradiction of Filipina women. They note previous research that suggests that Filipino culture consists of both egalitarian and patriarchal gender roles. Whereas indigenous
Filipinos (tao) engaged in “premarital sex, and trail marriages,” Spanish colonization constructed the “Philippine heroine, Maria Clara” and influenced Filipinas to aspire to the model of an obedient and chaste woman (p. 129 - 130). These ideals of duty and purity, according to the authors, affect how sexual violence is perceived. Furthermore, they find that Filipino American men “endorsed physical violence” more if they perceived women
“flirting or having an affair” (p. 129). This research challenges other studies since it doesn’t imply Filipino gender roles are essentially patriarchal, rather they discuss how they are impacted by historical and contemporary colonization.
In a fairly recent study, Margarita L. Delgado-Infante and Mira Alexis P. Ofreneo
(2014) examines how Filipinas in the Philippines develop sexual agency within a
Catholic context. These authors first look at the construction of “first sex, sexual agency, and sexual double standard” and note that first sex comes with the notion of having a gendered double standard. According to this gendered double standard, while boys and men are praised for first sex girls and women’s first sex experiences are associated with
“...negative and less pleasurable experience” which often insights attitudes of promiscuity or impurity (p. 391). In terms of sexual agency, they state that it is a combination decision of wanting, owning and engaging in sex (p. 392). For Filipino men and women, because of centuries of Spanish colonization, patriarchy, and Catholicism, 24
Filipinas have a tendency to believe that premarital sex is a sin and proper girls should follow the ideology of the Catholic Virgin Mary (Tan et al., 2001; Brewer, 2001;
Manazan, 2001; Reyes, 2008 as cited in Delgado-Infante and Ofreneo, 2014, p. 392 -
393). The authors discuss how Filipinas navigate sexual agency through a Catholic context, whose first sex engagement either means to “avoid sexual agency” by ‘giving in,’ recognize it through “love and self-expression,” or are void of agency due to
“coercion” (p. 404). Furthermore, the authors note that for Filipinas whose first experience with sex is rape discourages chances at gaining sexual agency while promoting trauma. The complexity of the Catholic religion facilitated by the society and family reinforces masculinst patriarchy, continuing to favor sexual violence tolerance and control of Filipina agency.
Covering how sexual violence has been studied through general perceptions and narrowing it to Asian/Asian Americans’ and Filipino/Filipino Americans’ perceptions, this literature review will now discuss how the Filipino family has been researched.
Through an Ethnic Studies standpoint, focusing on gendered families' roles of girls and women, this literature review is meant to help understand the relationship between
Filipina survivors of sexual violence and family values. 25
Part II: The Filipino Family
Various disciplines and fields have contributed to the conceptualization of the
“Filipino family.” This research, derived from both the Philippines and United States, provides a transnational lens. While some studies essentialize the Filipino family to differing degrees, others challenge this by contextualizing the family within social and historical processes. This section begins with an analysis of psychological studies of the
Filipino family, leading into transnational Filipino families and labor, and discussions of decolonizing Filipino values.
Jaime Bulatao (1962) conducted one of the earliest Psychological studies of the
Filipino culture. He asked participants to create a narrative around “local fiction magazines” from the Philippines in order to understand common themes about Filipino values (p. 47 - 48). Bulatao (1962) wrote that “a value is the object of a positive attitude”, and so his goal was to explore what Filipinos or “more properly...Manileno’s” believe to be good perceptions (p. 45 - 46). From this study, he found that the family is core to a Filipino man or woman’s sense of safety, vulnerability, and stability. Other concepts include a sense of hierarchy where parents and elders are authority figures who maintain security of the family, rear children, and influence the children’s life decisions.
He also found that individual sacrifices are favored over the family and that “suffering, endurance” is expected when dealing with ills or struggles.
Bulatao (1962) also discovered several gendered values that were placed on girls and women. For example, he found that Filipino women are expected to maintain 26
domestic affairs, a sense of innocence or chastity, work hard to care for the children, and are “expected to suffer in patience” as she endures her spouses vices while seeking faith and art (p. 76). Despite these seemingly patriarchal familial standards, there are instances of acceptance for those who act outside of the “norm” as participants feel that if or when a child elopes or marries against the parents’ wishes, they should be forgiven (p. 61).
Though he notes few explanations of religious values from the participants, Bulatao contemplates whether or not they lay in participants’ discussions about values of the
“authority-and-tradition... [and] with the patience-suffering-and-endurance” (p. 81).
While these values seem inherit within the Filipino family, it stems from the historical
Catholic constructions of family order and gender roles which favor patriarchy and hierarchies.
Two decades later, Edwin Almirol’s (1982) family studies research looked at
Filipino Americans living in Salinas, California. Similar to Bulatao’s findings, Almirol argued that the Filipino family is significant to the individual but adds that the “extended kin...” also have the right to judge or rear the individual (p. 293). However, an important difference between these studies lies in how Almirol examines the effect of the immigration process on Filipino families. This process, according to the author, requires a strong maintenance of “rights and obligations” to increase opportunities in America
(McDonald and McDonald, 1964, p. 82 as cited in Almirol, 1982, p. 298). He contributes this necessary adjustment to oppressive, anti-Filipino/Asian sentiment, and Filipinos’ economic despair. Almirol (1982) also noted the shifting roles of Filipino American 27
children, who instead of attending school, work, care for other children and the
household. Additionally, the role of Filipinas changed as Filipinas, forced to work and
provide income, worked in the agriculture next to Filipinos, which raised suspicions of
infidelity since men outnumber women and increased Filipinos’ value of women chastity
(p. 294). Almirol (1982) argued that Filipino Americans were forced to alter the Filipino
family, which required an individual’s increased responsibility to the family and a system
of nuclear and extended kin. This extended kin included roles like godparents -
extensions of parental need and care for children - to socio-economically survive.
With the multifaceted migration of Filipinos into America complicating the
definition of the Filipino family, scholars increasingly find it important to study Filipino
Americans and mental health. Pauline Agbayani-Siewert (1994) notes that although
Filipinos are the second largest immigrant population, there are few studies about their
mental health compared to other Asian American populations. Parallel to previous
research about the Filipino family, the author concurs that an individual sacrifices their
“desires.. .for the good of the family” and that “solidarity with the family and kin group”
maintains this system (p. 430). Comparable to Almirol’s (1982) discussion about
Godparents, Agbayani-Siewert (1994) states that this “(co-parent) system” is a “religious
practice” that “is characterized by reciprocal obligations” (p. 431). Unlike prior studies,
her work conveys the direct influence of indigenous egalitarian and matriarchal values before Spanish colonization on the construction of the Filipino family. Its combination with patriarchal Catholicism has created more “liberalized” gender roles (Nydegger & 28
Nydegger, 1966; Andres & Illada-Andres, 1978; Pido, 1986; Yap, 1986 as cited in
Agbayani-Siewert, 1994, p. 433 - 434).
In a related psychological study by Rocco A. Cimmarusti (1996), the author uses client case excerpts and historical context to define the Filipino American family, in order to provide guidelines for clinicians working with Filipino Americans. He states that
Filipinos do not seek therapy because of factors such as the ‘model minority’ myth, the belief that .Asians adapt well to our society.. .and do not experience problems” (63). In addition to this, he introduces the concept of ‘colonial mentality’, a
...Phenomenon...[where] Filipinos...appear to embrace American values, to
make them look ‘Americanized’... [a possible] consequence of the Filipino people
trying to adapt to over 300 years of colonization and occupation... (Araneta, 1982
as cited in Cimmarusti, 1996, p. 65).
He argues that the combination of racialized social constructions on Filipino American identities contribute to both the invisibility of Filipino Americans and their reluctance to seek mental health support. Resembling Agbayani-Siewert’s (1994) work, Cimmarusti
(1996), maintains that the Filipino family is fundamental to the individual’s identity, life choices, and growth. Furthermore, he argues that the family consists of egalitarian gender roles that navigate a public appearance of “male dominance” and a private appearance of gender equity (p. 66).
Other scholars conceptualize Filipinos families within a global context.
Transnational families are common amongst many migrants, where they have obligations 29
to support the family in America and in their country of origin. Rhacel Salazar Parrenas’
(2007) defines the Filipino transnational household as ”a family whose core members are located at least two or more nation-states...a migrant settles in the host society, while his or her family - spouse, children, and/or parents - stays in the Philippines” (p. 336). She looks at the formation and causes of transnational households in Filipino migrant families through historical context and testimonies of “Filipina domestic workers” (p. 337). She finds that these Filipina workers cannot fulfill the duties of work, household affairs, and
“child care.” According to the author, they are forced to either have their children raised by kin in the Philippines or within their local network (p. 337). Like much of the literature previously mentioned, historical changes in the Filipino family also transformed gender roles and eventually Filipinas are often forced to be “the breadwinner of the family” (p. 338). She argues that while many transnational families appear fragmented, their unity is a result of their resiliency to “globalization and manipulation” (p. 343 -
343).
Similarly, Diane L. Wolf (1997) examines the Filipino transnational family by paying particular attention to the obstacles faced by Filipino children. Contextualizing the basis of her research, citing the invisibility of Filipino Americans through social constructions such as the “model minority” myth and society’s tendency to believe that they are “assimilated and successful.” She explores the phenomenon of Filipino children having lower self-esteem and Filipinas with high rates of suicide ideation (Federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Rumbaut, 1996 as cited by Wolf, 1997, p. 30
460 - 461). Through qualitative research of Filipino American children, she finds that the family can be “a deep source of stress and alienation... [and lead] to internal struggles”, although the participants associated the Filipino family with “pride and respect” (p. 458, p.461). She also attributes possible causes of higher rates of suicide ideation amongst
Filipina adolescents to the “control [over] women’s bodies, mobility, sexuality, and education.” According to her, these socio-economic structures play out through parents focused monitoring of daughters, who are expected to be successful in their career, as mothers and wives while maintaining chastity before marriage (p. 467). It is important to note that Wolf does not place blame on Filipino parents but notes the complexities of assimilation, yet, there is a tendency to place responsibility on the Filipino culture rather than holding pressure of American assimilation accountable.
Filipinos’ adaptation of the family because of colonization and migration involves complicated challenges for Filipino Americans and their need to survive and thrive.
Recent literature attempts to provide solutions to structures of patriarchy and gendered violence affecting Filipina survivors of sexual violence. Melinda de Jesus (2005), for example, published a series of “interdisciplinary... critical essays about contemporary
Filipina/American experiences[s] organized around...” “Feminism [which] describes
Filipina American consciousness, theory, and culture, with the p signifying specifically
Pinay or Pilipina... American-born Filipinas” (p. 5, p. 6). Linda M. Pierce (2005) uses
Maria P.P Root’s claim that trauma caused by colonization “fractures the essence of our being and self-knowledge; it disconnects us from each other” (p. 32). She further argues 31
that the formation of the Filipino family and the individual are inherited ideologies of
“Spanish patriarchy... religious authority... [and] the promises of U.S. education,
opportunity, and meritocracy” (p. 32). In Leny Mendoza Strobel’s writing, “A Personal
Story: On Becoming a Split Filipina Subject”, she argues that despite the trauma and
influence of colonization, indigenous Filipino values and are still present and resurfacing.
She claims there are efforts to bring out indigenous “traditions”, contending that,
“Filipinos must undo the colonial gaze” through “a decolonized consciousness” (p. 30).
These studies add to previous research of the Filipino family by advocating for Filipino/a
Americans’ self-determination in reclaiming indigenous values.
Extending previous literature about Filipino families, E. J. R. David’s (2011),
book about post-colonial psychology of Filipino/Filipino Americans discusses the history
of Filipinos or “Tao” (people), a collectivist, gender equitable society, the interjection of
Spanish patriarchy and American degradation of Filipino culture and ethnicity, and the
complex affect on Filipino/Filipino American identities. David introduces the concept of
colonial mentality in order to describe “a specific form of internalized oppression
wherein individuals regard anything of their heritage as inferior to anything of their
colonizers or oppressors” and decolonization - “the process developing a critical
consciousness and ridding colonial mentality” (p. 305, p. 306). He utilizes this concept to
illustrate how Filipino values help to form the relationship between Filipino individuals
and their families, which is parallel to other work in regards to the Filipino family as communal and not individualistic. These recent scholarships deconstruct implied 32
colonized values of the Filipino culture, such as, hiya (shame), utang na loob
(indebtedness from within), and pakikisama (group harmony). In order to deconstruct these colonized values, which blame and hold the Filipino culture responsible, Asian and
Ethnic Studies based scholars hold social constructions accountable, such as the patriarchal triangle of the colonized Filipino family, Catholicism, and American assimilation. Despite these contradictions, pushes, and pulls, people like Filipina survivors of sexual violence have to navigate this process and their healing movements. 33
CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY
The historical exclusion of Filipinos into American through both citizenship and stereotypes impacts the contemporary invisibility of Filipina survivors of sexual violence.
And so, the purpose of this qualitative study is to examine and understand the relationship between Filipina survivors of sexual violence and Filipino family values, using grounded theory and narrative research. Sociologists like Earl Babbie (2011), use
“grounded theory.. .to derive theories from an analysis of the patterns, themes, and common categories discovered in observational data” (p. 327). According to Qi Wang,
Jessie Koh, and Qinfang Song’s (2015) research, by analyzing observational data established through narrative research on Asian Americans enables an interpretation of
“events and happenings as they unfold and further [determine] their significance” (p. 89).
Exploring the stories of Filipina survivors of sexual violence and how they negotiated their ideas around what constitutes a Filipino family, sexual violence survivorship, and the Filipina identity.
This research including the in-depth interviews and data collection took place over a three month period from January 2016 to March 2016. Although the interviewee’s stories of survivorship add to the larger body of literature on Filipino women and violence, the goal of this research is not intended to essentialize the lives of all Filipina survivors of sexual violence, but rather to illuminate their experiences of navigating between an intersecting set of values influenced by traditional Filipino family values,
Filipino Catholicism, and U.S. patriarchy.. 34
Moreover, as Filipina survivor of sexual violence, I recognize and acknowledge the personal bias that I bring to this research. Espiritu’s (2001) discusses the importance of disclosing personal biases in her study about Filipina Americans, family, and culture.
She notes that “as an ‘objective’ [Vietnamese immigrant] outsider but as a fellow Asian immigrant who shared some of the life experiences”, she found it imperative to share her
“...own experiences of being an Asian immigrant woman...” (p. 419). As one attempt to address this bias, committee members were selected based on their diverse backgrounds in order to maintain an acceptable level of objectivity to my research and analysis. My committee consists of two professors in the Asian American Studies Department at San
Francisco State University. Dr. Eric Pido is a Filipino male scholar who has a background in social work and has published work on the Filipino/a American community in the Bay
Area. Dr. Mai-Nhnug Le, a female Vietnamese American scholar, has a background in public health and has published work on female sex workers in Vietnam. This committee guided my data analysis and carefully highlighted various blind spots that I initially disregarded.
I initially recruited participants initially through my personal network and was led to other respondents through snowball sampling. Snowball sampling, “a nonprobability- sampling method” was sufficient in recruiting Filipina survivors of sexual violence considering the sensitivity and invisibility of this topic (Babbie, 2011, p. 208).
Furthermore in Espiritu’s (2001) study, she uses this same sampling technique as well.
She recruits Filipino Americans in her network and utilizes their connections to recruit 35
other participants through a system of trust (p. 417). A total of 8 participants, 18 years of age and older who self-identified as Filipino, a woman, and a survivor of or experienced sexual violence were recruited and interviewed. While most participants were American bom, one participant migrated at a young age. The recruiting process consisted of an initial phone call and/or email to participants who I was familiar with. Each phone call and/or email invited the participants to partake in in-depth interviews and to pass the contact information and study information to other potential participants.
In addition to recruiting participants from my own personal network, I attended a women empowerment activist organization meeting, leaving sample consent forms of my research. This resulted in the recruitment of a member from Southern California. Once participants agreed to participate in the in-depth interview, they were notified by phone and/or email of a specific meeting date and times to collect all materials/consent forms, answered questions, and schedule a location and time for the in-depth interviews.
The in-depth interviews were audio-recorded and in English. The interviews took place in the participants’ homes, San Francisco State University, restaurants, counseling offices, and through online video conference calls. Through semi-structured questions, the in-depth interviews lasted between an hour to two hours and were conducted depending on the interviewee’s availability. In order to reduce any possible risks such as resurfacing emotional trauma, feelings of discomfort, and overall revisiting Filipino family values and/or sexual violence, I provided a resource list handout of Bay Area organizations of women’s support groups and counseling services. In addition to this, the 36
participants’ privacy was highly confidential, extreme measures were taken in protecting them, and all data was kept in a password-protected program, which was only seen by my graduate advising committee and myself These procedures where deliberately planned to both protect the participants; reducing risks while maintaining the integrity of the thesis.
Participants were asked to describe their background, ancestry, their relationships with parents/guardians, and the Filipino family. Questions included: When and how did your first ancestors) come to America? Describe your relationship with your parents/guardians as you were growing up. And, how do you define Filipino family values? Seven of the eight participants were bom in America and one migrated from the
Philippines at a young age. Participants were then asked to describe the Filipino family and many expressed feelings of hiya (shame), utang na loob (reciprocity), and pakikisama (group harmony), which scholars would say support the definitions of about the Filipino culture. They also described the family through Catholicism, which complicates their understandings of what it means to be a Filipina and an American. This is further interlaced with resurfacing indigenous matriarchal and egalitarian values that were carried over through generations and into America, as participants continue to experience mixed messages of private women empowerment and public submissiveness.
These colonialized psychological values are often associated with negative mental heath effects, which are seen through participants’ explanations of the Filipino family. And though, it can be assumed that the Filipino culture is to blame for these harmful effects, it 37
is the responsibility of larger social constructions of the Filipino families navigating
American culture.
Based off of narrative research guided by grounded theory, I used coding techniques to organize key themes and patterns around the Filipino family, Catholicism, and assimilation. Two rounds of coding were conducted from the transcribed interviews.
The first round consisted of axial coding where I segmented the data into basic concepts.
The second phase of coding was selective coding which allowed me to find concepts while supporting other concepts. The transcriptions were analyzed and coded by myself and were compared with notes taken during the interviews which were all subsequently used to attain conclusive themes.
The process of sharing experiences of survivorship was both empowering and painful. Some examples of the questions that participants were asked included: describe your survivorship, when and how did you first tell your family about your survivorship of sexual violence, and what were some barriers you face when trying to disclose your story to your family? I had personal connections with some participants and others it was our first interaction. It is imperative to indicate that participants were only asked to disclose their experiences of sexual violence based on their level of comfort. In addition to disclosing their stories, they shared their struggles with seeking familial and/or clinical support and their practices of sexual agency as survivors of sexual violence.
Half of the participants, Participants 1, 5, 6, and 8, experienced child sexual abuse from within the nuclear family or extended kin that include: a father, uncles, grandfather 38
and a mother’s boyfriend. Participant 4 was sexually harassed by a coworker. Participant
7 was raped by an acquainted friend. Participant 3 was sexually harassed by a customer and Participant 2 was sexually harassed by a stranger and on a second occasion, raped by an ex-boyfriend. All participant experience with sexual violence was from men and a majority of the men were identified as family or an acquaintance while fewer perpetrators were from strangers. 39
CHAPTER THREE: ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
This chapter presents an analysis of the data found from the in-depth interviews with Filipina survivors of sexual violence while looking at how they negotiated the
Filipino family, Catholicism, and assimilation. This chapter is broken into four parts. Part
I includes how they defined the Filipino family, in which participants often described indirect feelings of colonized values, such as hiya (shame), utang na loob (reciprocity), and pakikisama (group harmony). Though these three values are not the root of the
Filipino family, they are direct influences of patriarchal Catholicism and assimilation; the participants understand the family through these values. Part II presents the background and demographics of their experiences with sexual violence, narratives of survivorship, insight into help-seek or support trends, and how they practice sexual agency as survivors. Through their shared stories and healing processes, the most commonly felt colonized value, hiya (shame), influenced many of their barriers in seeking support. Part
III reveals how participants define Filipina identities. These responses convey the contradictions that they experience reconciling social and cultural norms with ideas of matriarchy and self-empowerment. Part IV illustrated the various ways that Filipina survivors of sexual violence balance competing ideas around the Filipino family, direct and indirect Catholic influences, and American patriarchy. It also conveys how participants have become agents of resilience and activism through these competing value system. 40
Part I: Filipino Family Values
Hiya, Utang Na Loob, Pakikisama
Four of the eight participants mainly described the Filipino family through the particular Filipino cultural value of hiya (shame). Participant 1, illustrates the meaning of hiya from a Filipina American perspective when describing her experiences as a survivor of child sexual abuse. She says:
“It’s different for different people. Unfortunately for me [...] it’s
absolutely painful because of how I was, how I was raised and to feel bad.
I was made to feel bad because I was American by my parents. I’m being
hurt by my own family but because of cultural and religious beliefs and
because I was so young and I didn’t understand [...] hence if they’re
unhappy with me it must be my fault [...] I deserve this. I deserve to be
hurt [...] no matter how disgusting or fucked up the behavior is [...]”
-Participant 1
Participant 6 states that the Filipino family involves, “saving face.” She also states, in instances of monetary situations, “then there was money and that made it all complicated so there was still the ideas of like shame like saving face and pride.” Participant 7 described the Filipino family through a gendered lens. She recalls that she was made to 41
feel that a Filipina, “you should be a [...] good girl and [...] there’s always a lot of shaming [...] My cousins had kids when they were teenagers [...] a lot of that same stuff around shaming girls for getting pregnant.” Participant 5 also expressed what scholars would correlate with feelings of hiya but more in the sense of timidity and body shaming:
“So I guess like I was really shy. I always had to go to all the family
parties [...] I didn’t want t to talk to anyone [...] ‘She’s masungit’ [...]”
“I always thought it was like a thing in Filipino families [...] how
whenever they would see me, they would always have to comment about
the way I looked or whether or not I gained weight or I lost weight. It was
like really annoying because every single time [...] it’s the first thing that
they would bring up [...]”
Participant descriptions of hiya are consistent with the scholarly literature about the
Filipino culture, in that it consists of feelings of pain, characteristics of ‘shyness’, shame, and used to maintain the family structure and hierarchy (Bulatao, 1964; Barnett, 1966;
Almirol, 1982; Yap, 1984; Agbayani-Siewert, 1994; Wolf, 1997). But this value is one part of this colonized patriarchal structure that is used to maintain oppressive macro and micro systems.
Furthermore, another Filipino value that was indirectly described by the participants that coincide with scholarship about the Filipino family was utang na loob 42
(indebtedness from within). Again, it is imperative to note that although their explanations of the Filipino family may seem consistent with literature, these impeding colonized values stem from patriarchal hierarchies that highly monitor the mobility of
Filipinas. For example, Participant 6 describes utang na loob (indebtedness from within) or risk disrupting the familial structure. She states, “Sense of [...] owing somebody was really significant and that’s what kind of made [...] the whole money thing complicated.
The whole kind of family breaking [...].” Participant 3 describes a sense of regard,
“We’re very huge on [...] respect. The second [...] you walk into someone’s house you greet them.” For participants 5 and 7 they understood values of the Filipino family with a sense of obligation or duty to others. Participant 5 states, “[...] Taking care of your parents was like a big thing [...] Having my Lola around to watch us...” And Participant
7 adds even more complexity in that her access to socio-economic mobility as a second- generation Filipina is not for self-merit, the ideology of American values, but rather a tool to used and given back to the collectivist family:
“[...] You do well in school so you can go to college, get a good job, and
then take care of your family [...]”
“I don’t just succeed for myself. I don’t do things just for myself [...]
This broader family that has brought me up, that cares about me, that
wants me to do better and do right, and build with them [...]” 43
Participant definitions of the Filipino family expressed similar definitions to the value of utang na loob, which scholars would claim are parallel to their studies of
Filipino families. Scholars defined this value as a sense of gratitude, debt and obligation to others either through gifts, repayments, and/or duties while maintain social structure of the family and a way of integration (Kaut, 1961; Almirol, 1982; Agbanyai-Siewert, 1982;
Cimmarusti, 1996; Parrenas, 2007; David, 2011). Yet, like hiya (shame), utang na loob
(indebtedness from within), comes from colonized constructions of how the Filipino family functions and in instances where these values can contribute to one’s sense of empathy and collaboration, it is also complicated in that Filipinas are pressured to fulfill the duties of a proper Filipina which often entail a woman’s sacrifice for the family was acknowledged as a “martyr” (Roces, 2009, p. 272). This is in addition to pressures to assimilate to American individuality and openness with sex and sexuality, as Filipina survivors of sexual violence have to negotiate both spaces.
Participants also insinuated another commonly studied value, pakikisama (group harmony). They revealed reflections of collectivity and self-sacrifice which scholars would argue are coherent with research that define pakikisama as a sense of keeping harmony even at the expense of an individual’s needs and the images of pleasantry while maintaining “collectivism” (Agbanyai-Siewert, 1982; Cimmarusti, 1996; Parrenas, 2007;
David, 2011). But like the two values mentioned above, this value is a contradictory complication of historical and contemporary influences that is often used to maintain hierarchies. 44
Participant 5 states the Filipino family is to “Be in contact with everyone.
Everything to be big [...]” Participant 3 states that it is about “being family oriented [...]
I would always put my family over anyone, that’s just what I was always taught [...]”
Participant 2 states that although it is about familial collectivity, it also comes with liabilities:
“[...] Family connection. Just like wanting that [...] feeling of being [...]
next to [...] being in proximity with other people. And kind of connecting.
I think is a big thing [...] with our community”
“It’s about being together [...] sharing. About supporting [...] As Filipinos
we want to share ourselves, so navigating us being kind,
hospitable.. .caring warm people, that puts us in a vulnerable position.”
Participant 7 extends this reflection by stating that this comes from deep roots of historical resilience”
“Surviving with a smile. There’s almost this [...] pride of having been
colonized for almost 400 years. We managed to still keep our humor, still
keep a lot of our culture [...] There’s something beautiful in the Filipino
spirit in enduring.” 45
Their reflections that scholars would link with the value ofpakikisama (group harmony), show a series of ups and downs that was generally positioned in a positive light, it also comes with areas of caution, in that centuries of colonization and patriarchy have manipulated the values of the Filipino culture, to reinforce dominance.
Catholicism
Participants also linked the Filipino family with Catholicism. All eight of the participants described having grown up and/or practicing Catholicism. Catholicism, which is commonly gendered that directly controls Filipina sexual agency by promoting chastity and martyrdom has been associated with feelings of depression as ideologies of being a proper Filipina is further complicated by instance of sexual violence, shame, and guilt.4 Participant 1 associated religion and family with negative feelings and lack of approval:
“I think for the longest time because being raised in a very religious and
cultural family [...] that you’re always meant to feel bad and guilty [...]!
never lived up to their standards whether it religious or cultural wise.”
4 In W olfs (1997) study she found Filipino/a Americans expressed feelings of depression and “...a religious notion o f‘suffering in silence’ as a way to accept their pain, feeling that if Jesus could withstand...being nailed to the cross, they should be able to handle their own suffering” (p. 471). 46
This is in addition to the historical monitoring of Filipinas migrants to American
since Spanish Catholicism reinforces male patriarchs who monitored their
mobility.5
Similarly, Participant 2 expressed the challenges of the Filipina American
identity and having to navigate through American ideologies of sexual liberation
while experiencing conflicting messages of maintaining chastity:
“ [...] My parents are judgmental [...] It becomes difficult when they’re
[...] still back there [the Philippines] because my parents are very [...]
religious [...] when they start pushing their tradition [...] That’s when it
gets difficult.”
“[...] With my mom in [...] terms of like sex [...] on one hand she wants
me to have kids [...] and have a relationship, but on the other hand she
does not want me to have sex at all [...] I’m not allowed to date a guy. I’m
not allowed to bring a guy home [...] And that’s also really hard to
navigate your sexual agency, when it’s [...] ‘I want you to be both the
Madonna and the whore.’”
| ^ “Catholic traditions...[restricted]” chances of Filipinas from migrating since they had to travel with the patriarchs of the family and were faced with anti-Asian sentiment (Takaki, 1989, p. 58). 47
Participant 4 understood the Filipino family through this sense of a higher being watching and judging her movements, which was, particularly, her grandmother’s way of preaching Catholicism and retraining her mobility:
“ [...] Catholic scornful [...] ‘Jesus wouldn’t want you to do that kind of
thing’.. .and my grandma still believes in that stuff. She would always say
[...] ‘You should always be scared because you’re always being watched
[...] everything you do [...] there’s going to be repercussions.’”
Participant 6, being raised Catholic and through developing her own ideologies, connecting with Filipino/a activists, and movements toward decolonization, converted into a Muslim while challenging structures of the family as a divorcee:
“The first time I got divorced that was really challenging for my mom
because that was [...] against her religion [...] and I also [...] became a
different religion [Muslim] than my mom. That was really challenging for
her [...] I think a part of family values is [...] being Catholic.”
“[...] I always kind of celebrated [...] religious holidays with my mom
[...] There [was] a point where I was really a into it [...] I do it to support
my mom, but I wasn’t really having fun [...] And then it came back to a 48
place where it felt comfortable and okay [...] so that made it relationship
easier.”
Lastly, Participant 7 recalls the challenges with coming out as bisexual after not wanting to participant in one of the Catholic rites of passage: confirmation. She also expressed the idea of suffering in silence and enduring:
“So I didn’t want to get confirmed Catholic, this is hilarious just
remembering this. I said because ‘I question. I think I’m bisexual and the
Bible says that’s wrong and I don’t know if I believe in everything in the
Bible’ and especially my mom and then each of my living grandparents sat
me down and was telling me why I have to be Catholic and had to be
confirmed. My dad really didn’t care. My dad was never really - he was
like, ‘make your mom happy.’ And she was basically like, ‘well as long as
you live under my roof you have too [...] as long as you live here you
have to do it.’ So I did all that. So the Catholic stuff we kind of always
went to church [...]”
“The whole family hero role [...] being the ‘good one,’ not making any
trouble. I think certainly from Catholicism, there’s a lot of, you just have
to grind and bare it [...]” 49
The heavy influence of Catholicism through the Filipino family and the participants’ interpretations of this construction was used to monitor the agency of the Filipina survivors, that comes from the historical roots of Spanish colonization, intertwined with a continuous cycle of navigating through American assimilation.
Matriarchy and Egalitarian
Two of the eight participants expressed clear understandings of the Filipino family being constructed with women as center but that it’s complicated by public patriarchy within the family, Catholicism, and assimilation, which communicate contradictory messages. Participant 4 talks about being more connected with the Filipina women in her family:
“[...] From what I know, it was really about women because I would
always hang out with my grandma and it was always be my mom’s side of
the family [ ] it was always just focused on the women or I would
always focus on the woman [ ] it was like the strength of women [...]
that connection [...] whenever mom had problems she always turned to...
whoever she had felt more comfortable with, the aunts primarily. My
grandma [...]” 50
Participant 7 express the complications of impeding patriarchal systems interacting with indigenous matriarchal and egalitarian systems:
“Conflicting views about what it is to be a woman because on the one had
you should be very strong and like there was matriarchs were a big thing
in my family like the women like handled shit and then for some reason
[...] Its very confusing when I look back at it [...]”
These Filipina survivor of sexual violence and their descriptions of the Filipino family showed a network of navigation and negotiation not matter how painful the process.
There were still instances of maintaining familial collectivity and a sense of returning back to the family. And while some scholars position the assimilation process as a
“necessity” in America for Filipino migrants, blaming the Filipino culture: family and
Catholicism, it takes the accountability away from social pressures to assimilate.
Respondents often used the terminology of “blending in” to describe the social process of assimilation. And while the family, religion, and adherence to American culture can be interpreted as separate entities, Filipina survivors of sexual violence are forced to work beside and through all three at the same time combatting macro and micro versions of patriarchy. 51
Part II: Sexual Violence Survivorship
Based on participant testimonies, one particular theme constantly emerged from their stories of sexual violence survivorship: lack of agency or ability to self empowerment. These moments of intense vulnerability were due to being children when the sexual abuse occurred, being intoxicated or drugged, their disassociation from the violence, or a direct result of anger. Within each survivor story, this lack of agency was further complicated by the competing value system of the Filipino family, Catholicism, and cultural assimilation.
Lack of Agency: Child Sexual Abuse
Half of the participants disclosed that the perpetrators were men within the family or extended kin. Their stories add validity to sexual violence literature that argues that many experiences of sexual violence occur within the private sphere and violence is often perpetrated by individuals close to the survivors (Hearn (1988), Clark (1989), and Gelles
(1977). Scholars explain how patriarchy directly influences the complexity weaving violence together with the public and private sphere, arguing that:
The historical establishment of public patriarchy is a profoundly
contradictory political process...it represents the structural means of
increasing men's power over and oppression of women; on the other, in 52
overriding the private father, it is a potential means of controlling men's
private violence, in incest, rape, and domestic violence (p. 541).
The following examples of sexual violence testimonies convey the intense vulnerability to violence experienced by children. Participant 1, a self-employed entrepreneur, was left in the care of her paternal grandparents after the loss of her mother to cancer at a very young age. She shares her experiences with child sexual abuse from both her father and uncle:
“My dad when he was drunk [...] and if there was no woman around he
would come in my room at night and.. .he would be pant-less.. .this was
probably when I was eight or nine. In my mind I just thought my dad was
going to sleep. So I don’t know how often he did it and I don’t know what
happened during the night [...] My uncle would do the same thing when
he was really drunk because he did the graveyard shift [...] He would
make me sleep with him and [...] He was in his underwear. It was
disgusting [...] growing up taking baths just taking a shower was
mortifying to me [...] so [...] I would leave the shower door...cracked and
he would close it [...] I knew he was in there. I was like, ‘why is my dad
in the fucking bathroom?’ [...] At the time [...] I didn’t find it odd, but
looking back now, it’s not appropriate.” 53
Another emotional reflection from Participant 5, coming from a divorced family and dealing with the complexity of being multi-racial/ethnic, half Filipino and half White, dealt with questioning the perceived truth and her truth:
“It was my mom’s boyfriend [...] it was something that I [...] didn’t really
realize until I was older and like I don’t remember it happening but I
remember like just weird things that I knew.. .weren’t right that I didn’t
realized more when I was older. I’m sorry.”
Participant 6 illustrates how the financial necessity for many immigrant parents to work multiple jobs sometimes creates an indirect consequence of leaving children vulnerable to abuse from their caretakers. The participant explains how her grandfather abused her because her mother was forced to work so much.
“[...] So I was sexually assaulted. I don’t even like, I don’t know what
term to actually use because at the time [...] throughout my childhood
from kindergarten to fifth grade like literally through my childhood by the
grandfather who I said was taking care of me [...]” 54
She later shared a very real consequential experience of child sexual abuse that challenged her understanding of what womanhood means as a survivor of sexual violence:
"I wasn’t able to have vaginal intercourse until my second husband [...] I
learned about a thing called ‘vaginismus’ which is basically like your
body saying, ‘I’m not going to do what you want me to do.’ So [...] I
learned about it [...] being shamed into learning about it and it was really
challenging [...] I had a high school boyfriend and we [...] engage in
sexual acts but not vaginal intercourse [...] I didn’t engage in sex and you
know I had all this like religion and culture to frame it around, ‘well I’m
just you know saving myself for marriage.’ But I wouldn’t ever frame it
that way because I thought that was corny [...] and then when I got
married or maybe even before that when I was dating somebody [...] and
we tried and I couldn’t and I just thought, ‘maybe this isn’t just right. I
don’t really know this person [...]’ But then why couldn’t I with my [first]
husband that was really challenging.”
Similar to other participants who experienced child sexual abuse, Participant 8, being raised by a working single mother, seeing the strength of the women in her family, she was left in the care of an uncle: 55
“When I was living with my uncle [...] he molested me for four years [...]
He would just touch me in inappropriate places and [...] he never forced
himself on me, but he did inappropriately touched me all the time, ’cause
my mom would work late nights and he would watch me [...] I [...]
didn’t know anything [...] I was just like, ‘okay, there’s nothing wrong
with this.’ One day [...] he just grabbed me, tried [...] to perform oral sex
on me [...] to the point where he was just grabbing and holding onto me
[...] I was just like ‘this isn’t right.’ I don’t know what’s going on, but I
know this isn’t right. I remember I was like fighting back with all my
might. I kicked him and I kicked him so hard [...] his two front teeth came
off and he [...] zoomed out of the house. He ran.”
These Filipina survivors of child sexual violence, dealing with the complexity of familial collectivity, lacked a means of advocating for themselves due to their young age and the difficulty reconciling the traditional idea that families were supposed to create a sense of safety as opposed to being the source of violence. 56
Lack of Agency: Intoxication/Drugged
For Participant 7, there was a lack of agency because of intoxication and being drugged. Her determination to be studious and exceed expectations lead the participant to travel Ecuador as an exchange student. While there, she struggled with issues of consent and self-blame but owes much of her success to her resilience:
“I [...] was a virgin when I was rape [...] He was like a good friend of my
host brother’s [...]! was hanging out with this dude. And I was like [...]
wasted [...] and later found out that he had drugged [...] my drink.
There’s even a time, this was when it got super confusing was because I
woke up and was still drunk and we had sex again [...] and then he went
to go play soccer or something. He gave me herpes. So I’ve never known
sex that’s been casual because of that [...] but I used to have a lot of like
anxiety over that because I was like, ‘what of it was my fault? What of it
did I choose?”
Disassociation
Participant 2, having grown up within a family that she states is “egalitarian” and expressing a high sense of sexual agency, she experienced two forms of sexual violence: 57
sexual harassment from a stranger and sexual assault by an ex-boyfriend. She interprets her experiences with sexual violence through disassociation:
“I was getting my senior portraits done and my parents where in the other
room and the guy [...] was taking pictures of me [...] he came and he put
his hand down my shirt and he was like ‘Oh, uh the light is shining on
your shirt.’ And he put his hand [...] in my shirt, in my bra and ...fondled
me...and then went back and started taking my photos [...] I experienced
for the first time what it felt like to go inside and [...] retreat [...]
disassociate [...]” “[The ex-boyfriend] basically raped me [...] I was
thizzin’ (the experience of taking ecstasy) and I was feelin’ up on him and
he was [...] sober and he was upset [...] He wanted to go home, but I
wanted to hangout with him [...] I wasn’t trying to have sex with him I
was [...] drunk and thizzin’ and wanting to hang out with him. And he got
mad [...] flipped me over and just [...] went at it. I couldn’t say ‘no.’ I
couldn’t stop him and [...] I remember going inside that time too. And I
remember just like staring at the window. Blue. Just like all these blues
and purples and [...] going inside and [...] feeling hard [...] there was no
psyche anymore [...] like mud, but it was hard [...] I couldn’t even go in.
There was a place that I got stuck.” 58
These two particular experiences with sexual violence while being intoxicated or drugged complicate the rape myth, which argues that alcohol and drugs endorse violence
(Kennedy and Gorzalka’s, 2002; Lee et al., 2005). And while these studies have shown that most men and Asian/Filipino communities agree with these rape myths more often than women and westernized Asian/Filipinos, this trend of victim-shaming through altered consciousness, reinforces patriarchal, masculinst ideologies of blaming women’s sexuality and bodies.
Violation/Anger
Finally, participants 3 and 4 experienced sexual harassment, associating their experiences with violation and anger. Participant 3 migrated to the U.S. at a young age and was adopted by a Filipino family. She worked for a sex shop because it helped her to embrace her gay identity. While working, she recounts a particular experience that made her feel violated:
“He approached me [...] after ringing him up and he [...] asked me [...]
‘oh would you be interested in um [...] joining me and my wife [...] to
have fun?’ And I looked at him, and I was kind of like ‘are you, are you
serious?’ [...] I never had [...] a guy approach me considering that I [...]
dress in boy clothes [...]! went and told him that I was in a relationship, 59
still pursued and he was like, ‘oh it’s okay no one needs to know.’ [...]
Finally I was like ‘no I don’t think my partner would like that. I’m
actually pretty happy in my relationship’ [...] Then he asked for a pen
and paper [...] And he continued to write down his name and phone
number and [...] goes ‘if you would like to do anything on the side’ and
he does a little money sign [...] ‘We can [...] have our fun’ [...] I just
took the paper and the pen and I was completely dumfounded [...] I felt
violated.”
The violation she felt was complicated by her attempt to make sense of her gender identity. While she did not dress in gender conforming clothing, the participant still experienced harassment as if she was a woman.
Participant 4, acknowledging her mixed ethnic heritage as a half Filipino and half
Japanese and embracing the strength of Filipinas and women in general, struggled with her hesitation to report the sexual harassment of a coworker:
“It was a blur because we were working [...] he came up behind me [...]
in a space, in the freezer where it was like no one was around and it was
nighttime. Afterwards, I felt really angry just because I didn’t know what
to do. I didn’t know how to go about it because I knew his family and his
wife actually worked in target [...] for me I was more concerned about her 60
and the child versus [...] ruining his life, if I were ever to bring it up to
H.R [...] so I was angry because the necessary step [...] I wanted to take
for myself, I couldn’t do. I felt like I couldn’t do. And still to this day, I’m
still kind of [...] angry [...] now how I feel is [...] I should’ve done more.
Family Disclosure and Seeking Social Services
After sharing their stories of survivorship, participants were asked whether or not they disclosed their experiences with their families and their perceptions or experiences with social services. Based off of participant answers they either did not disclose, forced to disclose, or disclosed their survivorship by choice to their families. Within each experience of disclosure or non-disclosure and trends in seeking social support, the
Filipina survivors faced the challenge of negotiating Filipino family values that include: hiya (shame) and pakikisama (group harmony), while dealing with impeding Catholic ideologies and restraining battles with assimilation. Participant experiences with non disclosure, forced discloser, and disclosure by choice, commonly connect with scholarship that imply the need for immigrant populations to assimilate and blend into
American society which has the tendency to prevent many Asian Americans from outing any issues that may negatively impact this process (Dussich, 2001; Sue, 1994 as cited in
Bryant-Davis et al, 2009, p. 339).
Additionally, while some scholarship assumes that migrants must accept the complications of assimilation, there are instances where the oppressive responsibility 61
shifts from larger social constructions to the individual and culture. And in this case of
Filipina survivors of sexual violence, they continue to negotiate family, religion, and
Americanize that complicate their need and understanding of valuable help-seek but are threatened by interfering ideologies of wanting to be accepted, supported, loved, and healed.
Non-Disclosure
Hiya (shame) and pakikisama (group harmony) were two Filipino family values that were most prominent with participants’ reflections of non-disclosure to their families. Participants 1 and 4 both expressed feelings of hiya (shame) in choosing not to tell their families:
“Fuck no! There have been times I have thought about telling my older
brother because my older brother now is like my father figure [ ] it
wasn’t until I got sober, my brother apologized to me for not being
around. I think he knows to a certain extent [...] that my dad was fucked
up [...] And there were moments I wanted to tell my brother, but there’s
always that feeling of being rejected and being victim shamed [...] my
grandmother, it still bums in my mind, ‘why do you let your father come
into your room?’ If my brother [...] reject me [...] I don’t know how I’d 62
react [...] unfortunately society as a whole, they don’t [...] look at abuse
[...] its taboo. They automatically victim shame [...] it’s your fault [...]”
Additionally, with her reflections seeking social services, therapy and support groups, she states:
“[...] It’s definitely is a cultural thing. I felt like I was abandoning my
cultural beliefs [...] but I think culturally, it was ingrained that [...]
implicitly it must be ‘your fault’ because ‘you have to respect your elders,
and they would never do anything to hurt you’ [...] It’s shameful. It’s
unacceptable [to seek therapy].”
Participant 4 also dealt with feelings of hiya (shame) in terms of not feeling comfortable enough to disclose to family and close friends:
“No [...] I don’t think I really fully understood it back then and I don’t
think I could talk to anybody about in my family [...] I was really
ashamed. I’m still really ashamed [...] especially being prideful in our
work, in the college experience I do have [...] I want to work with
children [...] and I want to be that example [...] I was ashamed. That’s
probably one of the many reasons why I didn’t share with many people.” 63
In this instance she was referring to her not feeling capable of reporting her co worker who sexually harassed her to the human resources department while not wanting to risk the possibility of disrupting his family structure. Again, pakikisama (group harmony), with both positive and painful reinforcements, interwoven with hiya (shame), is a difficult challenge to overcome.
Other participants’ reflections show the complexity of feelings of wanting to maintain pakikisama (group harmony) and non-disclosure to family, in order to maintain
Filipino family collectivity:
“I have not told my parents. I’m just afraid of the crying [...] I don’t think
there would be a lot of [...] shaming [...] If I told my dad [...] he would
just not be able to compute [...] And if I told my mom, I think she would
hug me. But [...] I think that it would be [...] cognitive dissonance for
them [...] They couldn’t be able to look at me [...] Who I am now [...]
strong [...] independent, they wouldn’t understand how somebody like
me, how that could happen [...]. Not shameful but its like, ‘I don’t
understand.’ Or even like,’ why didn’t [...] you tell us? I feel like they
might feel guilty, protective. But also mostly confused.”
-Participant 2 64
In her reflections about social services, she shares her experiences with help-seek and
feelings about the lack of Filipino/a therapists, insinuating Eurocentric social services
lack cultural competency. In addition to this, she references back to a sense of social
collectivity in terms of deciphering whether or not to speak to a therapist, who is an
outsider as resurfacing colonized values: utang na loob (indebtedness from within) and pakikisama (group harmony), impact her perceptions about social services:
“Other than cost, it costs a lot of money to have a therapist [...] you talk to
White people if you don’t mind a White person because there’s not a lot of
us [Filipino/a therapists...] The methods that I found most healing for me
never happened in [...] therapy [...] It’s how social services are presented
to us, doesn’t sound like what we need - 1 don’t need to sit in a room for
50 minutes and talk to you about some shit that I can’t even talk to my
friends about [...]”
Forced Disclosure
Participants who felt they were forced to disclose their stories of survivorship with their families were also confronted with having to navigate Filipino family values.
Participant 7, a couple years after her rape and experiencing the stigmas of having herpes, attempted suicide, but with support of her partner at the time, she was forced to disclose her story to her parents: 65
“[...] When I tried to jump out of the car. When I was in [...] college [...]
I came home and told them how depressed I was. I told them everything
[...] It was really hard because I think in my mind I was scared that they
would see me differently [...] that they’d be ashamed of me [...] and I’m
sure that’s why I didn’t tell them [...] I had thought that I had done
something bad [...] In my mind I was like, ‘it’s wrong and I will be seen
as wrong for having done that’ [...] How do you bring up something like
that? [...] We didn’t really have that type of relationship. I mean I love my
mom and I share everything with her now [...] I didn’t tell my mom
because when I was like, ‘I’m officially bisexual.’ My mom was like, ‘I
love you but that’s so unnatural.’ And so [...] I remember not feeling safe
with her about telling her stuff [...] I knew she would judge [...] based on
the Catholic stuff [...] I really don’t think I would have told them had I not
been had my partner not forced me to.”
In addition to this, because of the urgency of her forced discloser she was able to seek social support from support groups, medication, counseling and her own reflection of both deconstructing family ideologies and working toward agency: “[...] There was this [...] counseling program on campus called CAPS and... our student healthcare covered several sessions... of course there were no counselors of color [...] But I was also put on medication [...] that helped [...] immediately with the depression [...] I was on a very low grade [.. .of] anti-depressants that really helped me. I really do believe that to this day there was some chemical imbalance that it gets exacerbated with my mental state not being attended to and not [...] understanding a lot of my own triggers and the ways I can get unbalanced. I know how to deal with my depression without medication [...] but I really do think it saved my life [...] The counseling was interesting that’s when I started to work through like [...] ‘Was that consensual? Was that rape?’ And I think when I started to see how little control and ability to give consent [...] To this day it still feels weird saying it ‘cause there’s a part of me that in my body thinks it was my fault. This is why I think I should go to somatic therapy [...] There’s still shit that lives very deep in my body [...] And there’s also something about the way I was raised [...] In the household of like, ‘[...] You get what you deserve [...] you put yourself in that position.’ [...] I think there’s a part of me [...] like, ‘no [...] we should be able to have a good time like everybody else and not feel like we are going to get assaulted’ [...]” 67
Participants 5 and 6 were forced to disclose their stories of sexual violence while also showing resilience in negotiating pakikisama (group harmony). Participant 5, after finding out her younger brother told her sexual violence by their mother’s boyfriend to their family, she articulated experiences of disorder and liberation:
“ [...] It wasn’t because [...] I told them it was because someone else did
[...] I was really upset about it because it’s like, ‘wow you just made [...]
shit hit the fan.’ And I wasn’t even in control of it [...] But in a way it was
I was kind of like relieved. It was hard [...] sometimes it would drive me
crazy because [...] I felt like an idiot being in the house [...] it was hard
living with so much hate [...]”
When asked whether or not she sought social services she reflected on her mother’s perceptions of keeping it within the family, which shows how pakikisama (group harmony) interlocks with hiya (shame). She also reflects on her own struggles with seeking support in taking the initial step:
“[...] She was like, ‘oh well you can tell me.’ But I never really felt that
way [...] I just dropped it because I was like, ‘she doesn’t understand and
that I can’t talk to her about everything. She’s not going to want to hear
everything’ [...] I think it’s good for people, but [...] she was like, ‘you 68
don’t need that’ [...] Taking the time to actually do it and also like not
knowing where to start [...] What do I talk about that’s like going to help
me? I don’t know.”
Participant 6 felt she was also forced to tell her mother about her child sexual abuse from her grandfather not only because of her mother’s spiritual call to inquire about it but also the participant’s need to protect his granddaughter:
“[...] I told my mom because my mom went to a psychic and [...] told her,
‘somebody’s [...] messing with your daughter.’ [...] And so my mom
would hard press me like if it was one of my two male cousins which it
wasn’t and so she stopped [...] He was also doing it to his granddaughter
and she was very young [...] And I feel like I had some agency [...] but
she was doing this particular act that looked innocuous, but to me I knew
what she was doing and then I was like, ‘that’s not okay and everybody
thinks it’s cute and funny.’ So I think I told on him about her and then
that’s how it came out about me [...] I remember, very distinctly, that he
told me [...] ‘Don’t tell your mom because she’ll get mad [...] and do
something [...]’ So I didn’t.” 69
Once her story and the sexual abuse of a younger family member was revealed she noted how family dynamics of keeping it within the family outweighed chances of seeking support, again showing how impactful colonized values of pakikisama (group harmony) link with hiya (shame):
“As Filipino families resolve these sorts of things they don’t want law-
enforcement to be involved so he got sent back to Philippines [—] I was
little bit older [...] I was like, ‘so what if he like did that to a bunch of
other kids [...]’ because clearly [...] he’s not only doing it to one person
and part of that [...] Filipino terms [...] that inform our culture [...] we
weren’t supposed to talk about it [...] When my uncle found out, the dad
of [...] my cousin he wanted to kill him because that was his father-in-law
[...] And then my dad did same thing. And so they thought this is the
safest thing here to do is not to get the police involved because it doesn’t
resolve anything at least from our understanding, so let’s just send [him]
back at least let’s get him away from here.” 70
Disclosure By Choice
Only one participant clearly stated that she felt able to disclose her survivorship to her mother after having been molested as a child and into her adolescent years, by her uncle, developing more cognitive development, security, and building relationships:
“ [...] We were at the bus stop [...] going to the mall [...] She was just
like, ‘[...] Your uncle is coming to pick up the mail later.’ And I was like,
‘Oh okay [...] did you ever see my uncle when his teeth were broken?’
[...] Because he was a dance instructor [...] for all those Filipino parties
[...] She was like, ‘Oh yeah [...] he just tripped and he broke his two front
teeth.’ And I was like, ‘No, that’s not what happened.’ And then I told her
and [...] She just went pale [...] She just couldn’t stop holding me.
It.. .was tough [...] a [...] big weight off of my shoulders because I didn’t
know how to handle that information [...] I didn’t know if I needed to tell
her or not [...] I was so confused with everything until I opened up [...]
because I went to a public school after my Catholic school [...] so it was
[...] completely different and then the people I made friends with had
similar stories [...] three of my other girlfriends like went through the
same thing [...] I did have the close knit group of friends [...] in church,
but they didn’t know how to respond to it and being able to talk to girls 71
my age that went through the same thing [...] I think I need to tell my
mom [...] mom needs to know.”
This participant’s actions toward seeking social services is unknown due to time constraints, but based off of data she did share, she sought solace in building relationships with other survivors her age which allowed her the courage to tell her mother. These
Filipina survivors of sexual violence experienced the pushes and pulls help-seek and showed the complex challenges of participants’ barriers with non-disclosure, disclosure, forced disclosure, and perceptions of social services. And that these results are influenced by colonized social constructs of how the family should be, focused on values such as values hiya (shame) and pakikisama (group harmony), while simultaneously being impacted by religion, agency through sexual violence, and oppressive hierarchies.
Practicing Sexual Agency As A Survivor
This section looks at participant experiences with overcoming sexual violence and presents their movement toward practicing sexual agency as survivors. Participants express their consciencization around female empowerment by embracing their feelings toward sex, sexuality and their sexual identities. Based on research about Filipinas,
Catholicism, and first sex by Delgado-Infante and Ofreneo (2014), they state that sexual agency is “the ability to recognize one’s sexual feelings or desires and act upon these desires” (Martin, 1996; Philips, 2000). 72
It is important to note this definition since survivors of sexual violence can be assumed to lack sexual agency and/or are shamed for desiring and utilizing their sexual agency. In instances of practicing sexual agency as Filipinas and as survivors of sexual violence, these participants are deconstructing notions of Catholic patriarchy, such as in the image of the virgin Maria Clara. In addition to this, participant must balance beliefs of chastity with American perceptions of liberties such as sex and sexuality.6 Participants are also implementing Strobel’s theory about Filipinos “decolonizing” their
“consciousness, in order to advocate self-determination and reclamation (as cited in de
Jesus, 2005, p. 30). Within the participant reflections three main concepts transpired when describing their process of sexual agency: exploration and risk-taking, confusion, and relationships and trust.
Exploration & Risk-Taking
Most of the participants shared their experiences with practicing sexual agency through stages of development, which often includes exploration and risk-taking.
Participant 3 mentioned watching “scruffy” images of adult performers on the Playboy station and being shamed by her grandmother. Participant 5 practiced sexual agency through her exploration of sexuality stating:
6 Linda M. Pierce (2005) uses Maria P.P Root’s claim that trauma caused by colonization “fractures the essence of our being and self-knowledge; it disconnects us from each other” (p. 32). She further argues that the formation of the Filipino family and the individual are inherited ideologies of “Spanish patriarchy... religious authority... [and] the promises of U.S. education, opportunity, and meritocracy” (p. 32). 73
“[...] I didn’t want to identify my sex just because I was reading up on
that so much [...] And I didn’t want to identify my sexuality [...] I’m
fluid. I’ve never [...] been with a girl. I just thought that I didn’t want to
define myself. I just didn’t want to.”
Participant 6, similar to Participant 3’s experience with being shamed and monitored, recalls that while dating her first boyfriend early in high school her mother warned her to not have sex or get pregnant. Participant 7, parallel to Participant 5’s exploration of sexuality, she remembers learning about sex from friends and older cousins, reflecting her first experiences of sexual agency:
“I didn’t have my first kiss until I was 17 [...] I was very innocent of all
that stuff [...] I think I might have had [...] one boyfriend [...] I definitely
fooled around [...] the first girl I ever kissed was my cheerleading
captain.”
Participant 8 also learning from peers, recalls virtues of chastity:
“[...] I was open with my friends about it [...] my mom was just like, ‘no
sex until your married.’ That was that only conversation we had [...]
When I was 16 and [...] all my other friends [...] had already lost [their 74
virginity] they would tell me about it and [...] we would tell each other
every single detail of what happened.”
Participants’ shared stories of exploration and risk-taking, as survivors of sexual violence, and through stages of development show how the triangulation of religion, family values, and being second-generation Filipina American influence and challenge their processes of sexual violence.
Confusion
However, other participants expressed feelings of confusion both as survivors of sexual violence and navigating a patriarchy and sexist society. Participant 1 states:
“It’s confusing [...] it’s a lot to process especially when child abuse is a
whole different fucked up animal to begin with, and so my child mind just
couldn’t process it [...] if I was single right now, I’d fuck everything.
Man, woman, whatever...for me, I identify with so many different groups
and categories [...] I’m an amalgamation of [...] gay, queer, maybe bi.”
Participant 4 notes the confusion of the complexity of what “sexy” means while understanding that there are society ideologies that promote oppression and sexualization of women’s bodies: 75
“It’s hard because sometimes [...] I feel like I want to dress up and I want
to [...] go out [...] show a few features but [...] I don’t want to condone
your oppression of women [...] I tossed back and forth between [...]
wanting to feel sexy but [...] what is sexy? Despite the strength of a
woman...despite what she looks like [...] her physical features. It’s
confusing [...]”
Relationships & Trust
Furthermore, additional participants attribute their ability to practice sexual agency through building relationships, community and trust. Participant 2 recollects many relationships that support her process of healing and sexual agency, which include her ex-boyfriend, women’s activist organization, and seeing her parents endearing love and care:
“[...] Having a good relationship with somebody where you can
communicate and you can talk and [...] feel all of your feelings was really
helpful because he was one of the first people I told that really happened
[...] For [...] a woman to feel [...] she has to feel safe to do it and there’s
not a lot of safe places [...] I think also doing [women empowerment
organization name] stuff [...] talking with other women who had the same 76
history and were not silent about it [...] seeing it and what it did for them
[...] that was healing too. I feel like I’ve always been a sexual person [...]
what happened didn’t really change my relationships with sex [...] I think
partly watching my parents and how they related and how they worked
together [...] their relationship has always been kind and caring and
genuine [...] I think the sexual agency was just part of being natural [...]
that loving romantic kind of [...] sexuality that romantic kind of sensual
ness [...] Filipinos are good at that [...]”
This movement of building relationships and trust was truly profound for Participant 6 whose experience with child sexual abuse and the diagnosis of vaginismus impacted her understandings of womanhood, but she was able to find trust in her current husband and in herself:
“[...] I think on our third date I told him that I was divorced and it was
recent [...] and [...] he had been separated a long time ago and so I think
that’s part of what really opened me up [...] And so when it happen [first
sex...] there was no plan for that [...] there is no need for discussion [of
sexual violence] especially that early on because I think part of that like
doing online dating, I was just meeting random people [...] When I have
the flashback - my husband didn’t really understand what I meant like [...] 77
I said, ‘I’ve never had sex before.’ [...] I don’t think it registered because
he knew I was married [...] penetration was challenging he said it was
painful.. .that it wasn’t until the whole thing about ‘you write your own
story or you defined your narrative,’ that I felt comfortable enough [with
him...] but later on we had a discussion about [...] I’ve experienced
sexual trauma. That’s part of [...] the reality of it [...]”
Some of the experiences of these Filipina survivors were experienced on a backdrop of monitoring their practices with sexual agency.7 These Filipina survivors, confronted by the obstacles of sexual trauma and negotiating Filipino family values, express the growth towards sexual agency through their exploration and risk-taking, navigating through their confusion, and building trust in relationships. At the same time, their attempts to practice sexual agency is continually negotiating the competing value system of the Filipino family, traditional Catholicism, and their assimilation into American society.
7Wolf (1997) supports, stating that, “...Daughters are expected to combine their work lives with marriage and children, and until their marriage, expected to remain virgin” (p. 467). And Agbayani-Siewert and Flanagan (2000) argue, “...Filipina chastity (particularly that of young women) has the effect of reinforcing masculinist and patriarchal power...young women in immigrant families face numerous restrictions on their autonomy, mobility, and personal decision making” (p. 417). 78
Part III: Filipina Identity
When defining the Filipino woman or their Filipino womanhood, it comes with an understanding of how the Filipino family and the complexity of migration and social systems influence the participants’ self-construction.8 While generations of the Filipina identity have transformed to be an extension of the other, healers, virgin daughter, and
Pinay activists, the Filipina identity should be understood through “Feminism ’. It is this theoretical movement that centers the cultural, transnational, and cognizant perspectives of Filipinas, in order to place them from the margin to the mainstream (de Jesus, 2005).
From the reflections of Filipina survivors of sexual violence about Filipina identity, three themes arose: women as center, self-determination, and sisterhood.
Women As Center
Participant 6 defined the Filipina identity in relation to her mother and the indigenous matriarchal roots of Filipinos. She understands the formation of the Filipina identity is not stagnant; rather she is a cycle of historical and contemporary roots that have the potential of grounding itself through the Filipino culture that has the capability of decolonizing patriarchy and bring forth matriarchy:
8 Espiritu’s (2001) work about gender and culture of Filipina Americans adds to this, stating that, ...Immigrant parents tend to restrict... their daughters... to construct a model of Filipina womanhood that’s chaste, modest, nurturing, and family-oriented. Women are seen as responsible for holding the cultural line, maintaining racial boundaries, and making cultural difference (p. 431). 79
“[...] Like my mom [...] I think my mom has a lot of ovarian fortitude
[...] and I think that’s how I think of Filipino women [...] I’m a
transnational feminist and [...] I think [...] that’s a part of pre-colonial
[...] culture, part of postcolonial, during colonial. Culture is kind of the
woman is centered and central [...] there’s been [...] an evolution to not
recognizing [...] not valuing women. But I think at it’s [...] core [...] the
Filipino culture [...] is very women centric and pro-woman [...] I identify
it through strength, and wisdom, and care, and the essence of the goodness
of Filipino culture.”
Self-Determination
Participants 1 and 5 describe Filipina identity through self-determination. It is important to note that while internal familial patriarchy and Catholicism were direct factors of permitting sexual violence, these were means of larger social oppressive constructs dictating this cycle of contradictions. Participant 1, expressing feelings of frustration because of the abusive family she was raised with, had to look within herself to define Filipina womanhood on her own terms:
“Because I’m unmarried and single it’s difficult to answer only because I
believe that family values are passed on [...] I think because I separate
myself from my own family, that I have a better appreciation for our 80
culture [...] I hated being Filipino [...] because I was being raised by this
Filipino family [...] My culture was related to my family life [...] My
family was fucked up, so I automatically thought, ‘hence all Filipinos and
the [...] culture [...] is fucked up.’ But because I was able to separate
myself out of my family, and distanced myself [...] I have a deeper
appreciation for our [...] culture.”
Participant 5 notes she is in the process of self-determined Filipina empowerment but reflects the value and process of self-love:
“[...] I would say that I’m trying to be empowered and I’m trying to be a
good feminist [...] but I’m still learning [...] I think that you can do well
on your own and you can find [...] strength in yourself other than looking
for it in other people, and I think that [...] you really have to confront
yourself and [...] find a way to love yourself.”
Sisterhood
Other participants stated that Filipina identity is the through the strength in women’s collectivity. It is the idea that shared histories and stories surpass movements of divide and conquer, in that the collectivist linage of the Filipino culture influences these 81
participants” willingness to share. Participant 8 expressed her gratitude and admiration of
Filipina women:
“Strong. Resilient [...] With all the Filipino women that have gone
through my life [...] that I know, and that are my family [...] they are
super strong. Sometimes [...] I don’t even know how they take in the stuff
that they do [...]”
Participant 2 added the need for women to seek self-determination in order to build sisterhood:
“What I feel a Filipino woman [...] is [...] I can only talk about [...] the
Filipino women that I know [...] they have a sense of [...] core [...] They
believe in community [...] and they would fight for their community. I
believe that if [ ] Filipino women knew our own powers that we would
all be fuckin’ warriors together [...] and not [...] be afraid [...] we would
flourish. I do think that there’s like a difference between the women who
are more powerful as far as the arts [...] and women who are more
powerful as far as like leadership [...] We don’t remember that part of us
[...] We have a lot of nurses and they’re doing healing work. But do they
know why? [...] Your roles [...] as a Filipino woman is to care for and
heal other people [...] And when they don’t make that connection to that 82
spiritual part of your career [...] it’s like convoluted [...] you lose your
sense of being a Filipino woman [..
In this reflection, Participant 2 is referencing the indigenous tao or people of the
Philippines. There is an understanding of Filipina womanhood through indigenous identities, the construction of “Dalagang Pilipina” (proper Filipina woman), active advocates, and as survivors of sexual violence. Their healing process through sexual violence navigates between concepts of Filipino womanhood and Filipino family values.
It conveys the profound strength in their understandings of women centeredness, self- determination, and sisterhood. And through this process, there is a movement toward
“gender consciousness” where women, particularly these Filipina survivor of sexual violence, are able to connect and deconstruct oppressive ideologies from within and at large.9
Part IV: Messages From The “Kayumanggi”
Part IV includes messages from the Filipina survivors of sexual violence to the general public and other survivors of sexual violence. It also highlights the larger goal of this thesis by using their stories to encourage other survivors and educate communities surviving sexual violence. I use the word kayumanggi, a term introduced by Participant 7,
9 Gender consciousness...an awareness of femaleness and an identification with other women can lead to an understanding of gender power relations and the institutional control and socialization processes that create and maintain these power relations (Weitz, 1982 as cited in Chow, Wilkinson, and Zinn, 1996, p. 252). 83
that literally means the brown of the Earth and often refers to the dark, brown-skin color of indigenous Filipinos. Young Filipino American activists often utilize this term to emphasize how processes of survival and healing can be directly related to the strength drawn from ideas around Indigeneity. Therefore, in this section, I emphasize the deep, indigenous strength of these Filipina survivors of sexual violence.
When asked to share what participants wish and/or hope to see come out of this project, and their messages to the public and other survivors of sexual violence to know, the following themes emerged: sharing, education, seek support, family and friends, and forgiveness. Despite their tumultuous relationships with a triad of family values, religion, and assimilation, they expressed activism, advocacy, and compassion.
Sharing
Reflections of their own experiences and finding strength through the process of sharing, these participants hope that through their stories other will find hope and empowerment:
“[...] The best I can do is share what I’ve experienced [...] what I’ve
learned from it, in hopes that they can relate [...] that they’re not alone
[...] It’s unfortunate for us because of our culture and how you have to
keep everything at home and [...] respect your elders [...] I think that our
culture has so many valid [values] [...] our hospitality is unmatched [...] 84
that makes me proud to be what we are [...] you take care of your own
[...] I don’t think we’re a lost culture. I just think that here in the states
[...] we have an opportunity [...] to know the cultures and not just our
own [...] if we were to come together as a culture, I think we could do
great things. [...] And [...] truly help each other [...] I don’t think the key
at least for me the key is forgiveness neither do I think the key is like
telling the whole goddamn universe that you were abused [...] no that’s
not safe, but there’s other means for bringing it to light, and truly
recovering from it and learning from it [...]”
-Participant 1
Participant 5 also expresses the power of shared stories and survivorships, saying “[...] that [...] we share [...] these same feelings [...] and that they are not alone in that.”
Participant 6 includes multiple hopes that emphasize the value and power of a collectivist group of survivors of sexual violence and the unique connections:
“Learning. Sharing. Spaciousness. Knowledge. Love. Acceptance [...]
Healing [...] I thought [...] what a great opportunity [...] my challenging
experiences could be potentially, extremely helpful [...] if only for your
[...] somebody will eventually read this paper [...] and maybe that’s just
you in your writing process this helps your healing or [...] And I think that 85
survivors in their experience are very unique in that they have much more
profound understanding of other survivors, and so have the ability to
contribute in ways that somebody who hasn’t gone through this experience
can [...]”
Education
Other participants advocated for more education about sexual violence, sex education, and the need for the public and individual to maintain accountability and responsibility while others wanted to educate about multiple identities in understanding the self through family. Participant 7 explains the need for more public education about sex, consent, and healthy boundaries:
“[...] To the general public. Stop blaming rape victims. Stop. Teach your
fucking sons and daughters to respect their bodies.. .to respect consent
[...] to understand intimacy and vulnerability, to understand sex for
pleasure [...] These skills that everybody should know [...] we need to
[...] drastically change the way we teach relationship, intimacy, sex,
boundaries [...] We actually need to deal with it.. .not only does it not go
away - we can get better [...] Interesting to me [...] how much fear there
is about knowing ourselves [...] our own bodies and knowing each other
[...] My wish [...] to the] general public or society [...] lets start normalizing this and talking about intimacy, relationship, and emotions,
and pleasure.”
Participant 2 also focused on calling out the realities of sexual violence and feminist activist and movements that are constantly scrutinized for bringing up sexual violence, while reminding women that they have agency:
“ [...] I just want people to know that it happens [...] that sexual violence
against women is a real thing [...] It’s so prevalent in our culture, in our
media that we don’t even notice it. But I want people to know that...these
are real people with a psyche that’s malleable [...] I want people to know
that [...] it’s not a joke and its not like we’re not making it up [...] I feel
like people trivialize sexual violence against women [...] ‘Why do you
have to complain all the time? Why do you have to fight all the time? Why
do you have to protest?’ [...] I would hope for is for somebody to pick up
your paper and say, ‘I want to be respectful to a woman. I’m going to raise
my son differently. I’m not going to call women ‘B.’ I’m not going to
holler at women down the street.’ [...] I would hope for women.. .to know
that they can say something [...]”
Participant 5 reflects inward in order to advocate for others, using her own experience a means of showing the importance of education: 87
“[...] Wishing that someone would have taught me those things [...] to
protect myself.. .1 don’t know [ ] if they were afraid to tell me [...] I
guess stress [...] [to] women who are trying to have children or who have
children to [...] be with them always.”
Participant 4 add more to these messages of education, in that she wishes to remind people that the Filipino identity is inclusive of multiple identities since she is half Filipino
and half Japanese:
“Collectively I would like whoever is reading it understand that. [...]
Filipino identity is more than just being whole Filipino [...] being half it
really all depends [on...] who you grew up with. Who you were closes
with. Who you associate [...] I hope [...] these personal stories would
empower people to just learn more about themselves. Be aware [...] just
all the different aspects of what it is to be Filipino, identity wise [...]”
Seeking Support
In addition to the above, participant promoted the utilization of social support
either through counseling or therapy groups, family and friends, or other resources.
Participant 1 acknowledges how helpful and hard seeking therapy is, but that it has
allowed her to freely express herself, which is her wish and hope for others: “My hope is that other people will want to seek help [...] from [...]
counseling [...] groups [...] medication [...] through their family [...]
friends [...] religion [...] I understand the depths of hopelessness [...] and
I would hate for someone to experience that [...] and so [...] to seek help
[...] that it’s there if they really want it and that it’s going to be hard as
shit. It’s going to be painful, but I didn’t [...] give up because the [...]
alternative for me was still feeling miserable and I wasn’t willing to live
like that for any longer [...] If I could help someone else that would be
great. But it’s helpful for me to talk about it because although it hurts like
fuck [...] it doesn’t run my life [...] It’s liberating to fucking talk about
it!”
Participant 4, also advocating for seeking support, encourages other to overcome their fears, as speaking to others can helpful avenues:
“Take advantage of your resources [...] Be open. It doesn’t matter how
scared you are...It’s always going to be scary [...] But you have to talk to
somebody about it weather it be family or friends [...]” 89
Family and Friends
While some participants suggest seeking help from friends and family, others add that although it can be helpful for some, it depends on the individual’s comfort level. It is imperative to point out that since participants previously shared barriers when seeking support or disclosing to their families, their choices to reveal their experiences made them confront deep feelings of shame and not wanting to disrupt the family unit: hiya (shame) and pakikisama (group harmony). Participant 5 explains this complication through her own negotiations of family values:
“It really depends on them [...] If you feel comfortable enough to open up
to your family [...] and they are accepting of it then I feel like why not?
Unfortunately my family [...] They don’t know half the experiences that I
go through [...] if that person had [...] that comfort level with their
parents or even let a sisters or brothers or even just cousins [...]”
Participant 3 felt comfort in know that I was also a survivor of sexual violence, feeling as sense of security, which also relates to powers of shared stories:
_ “You were relatable [...] And that I felt [...] safe because [...] I had a
feeling [...] you would understand. So that’s what made it easier for me 90
[...] if it’s someone that you feel like would understand then don’t be
afraid to share.”
Forgiveness
Messages of forgiveness for the perpetrator or for themselves convey the participants’ agency and personal growth. This process which participants’ associate with feelings of pain, advocate for forgiveness in order to release feelings of shame, guilt, and sexual violence as a defining factor. Participant 8 talks about forgiving her uncle which was accomplished through her own self-work”
“I think I needed to forgive him to set me free [...] What you did was
foul, but you didn’t ruin me [...] I am a stronger version of me, not
because of what you did, because I overcame the shit you put me through
[...] I’ve gone through a lot of soul searching [...]”
Participant 7 spoke directly to Filipina survivors of sexual violence in hopes of reminding them that the process of healing is painful, normal, and to release themselves of shame:
“[...] For a fellow Pinay survivor [...] it’s not their fault [...] It is not your
fault [...] you were beautiful before it happened. You were beautiful
during and you will be beautiful after [...] it is not something that has to
break you [...] unmake you or define you [...] and I think its absolutely 91
normal to be angry, to be sad, even the guilt and self-hate to me is [...] a
normal process. I don’t think we should shame ourselves into feeling like,
‘[...] I should be over this.’ [...] We need to each process in the way that
we need to [...] but to trust that [...] you will move through it [...] you
cannot let your rapist win by staying in that moment [...] we need to hear
from other sisters and some brothers who have been assaulted [...] its not
just for us its for everybody else that this happens to, to not stay silent [...]
because it wasn’t our fault [...] we have to keep saying stuff. We have to
keep saying that this happens. This happens too frequently, and that it’s
not our fault [...]”
These messages from Filipina survivors of sexual violence, the “Kayumanggi” of the
Earth reclaim their dignity as resilient women while continuing to use their stories as a platform and avenue for sharing, education, and support. Negotiating Filipino family values through their survivorship, identity formation, sexual agency and advocacy, included pushes and pulls of the public and private spheres while nurturing a sense of healing through collectivity. This process of analyzing the relationship between Filipina survivors of sexual violence and the Filipino family with constructs of Catholicism, assimilation, and micro and macro forms of patriarchy, illustrates how participants are forced to confront the competing system of values in order to confront sexual violence. 92
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION
“Kayumanggi [...] I learned to re-love my skin and my body. All of it is wrapped into itself and there’s a lot of self-hate [...] I went to the Philippines, one of the activist elders looked at me and said that, ‘you have beautiful kayumanggi skin [...] It is like the brown of the Earth.’ And...if I were to think of my survivorship, I think of kayumanggi [...] strong, brown, woman [...]” -Participant 7.
These Filipina survivors of sexual violence and their understanding around the relationship between the Filipino family, Catholicism, and assimilation, conveys the immense complexities of navigating and negotiating experiences of sexual violence. The complexities of this process originates in Spanish colonialism, which sought to “civilize” the indigenous tao by using Catholicism and sexist gender norms to construct the “ideal”
Filipina. Indigenous tao women were originally highly regarded and utilized as faith healers, sources of wisdom, and carriers of culture. However, Spanish colonization influenced the image of the submissive and virgin “Maria Clara”.10 Through generations of reconstructing the Filipina identity, Filipina American women are given complicated contradictory messages, which ultimately create deeply-embedded insecurities and lower self-esteem. However, rather than focusing blame to their individual psychology, it is important to be conscious about larger historical oppressive constructions like Spanish
10 (Halili, 2004 as cited in David, 2011; Roces, 2015). 93
Catholicism; that places high conservative values on Filipinas’ sex and sexuality are tools used to maintain patriarchy.11
While Filipino culture originates from an indigenous egalitarian system, its contemporary manifestations are intertwined with Catholic patriarchy. These values resurface and are reinstituted through the competing values expressed with the Filipino family by parents, grandparents, extended families, and Filipinas themselves. As a collectivist culture that is centered on the family, Filipinos cannot easily extricate the culturally embedded values of hiya (shame), utang na loob (indebtedness from within), and pakikisama (group harmony) when attempting to make sense of their experiences of sexual violence. These values often have the perceived positive effect of keeping the family together, but also attribute to stress and depression amongst Filipino Americans.
Crucially, because these three values are commonly utilized to define the Filipino family, the cause and responsibility for high rates of anxiety and depression experienced by Filipina American, particularly amongst those who experience sexual violence, are redirected away from larger societal systems of patriarchy and the pressures of assimilating into American society. Rather, the blame is often solely placed on Filipino culture. It is the contradictory patriarchal triangulation, pushing and pulling of the
Filipino family, historical Spanish Catholicism, and the pressures of American assimilation that Filipina survivors of sexual violence negotiate love for the Filipino community, being Filipina in American, and self-love (see figure 1).
11 (Agbayani-Siewert and Flanagan, 2000). 94
Future research and discussion around the experiences of Filipina survivors of sexual violence must include contemporary experiences of globalization and transnationalism. Due to the constraints of this thesis, it is impossible to further introduce and analyze another intersecting variable of globalization onto the experiences of Filipina survivors. Today, the effects of transnationalism further complicate many Filipino family values. Globalization and labor migration has led to the tremendous export of Filipino people and physical separation of family units (Parrenas 2007). This process further complicates how Filipinas who experience sexual violence are forced to negotiate their process of healing through geographical dislocations created by globalization and transnational labor.
Originally, when I began this thesis, I too presumed the centrality of the three colonized values, hiya (shame), utang na loob (indebtedness from within), and pakikisama (group harmony), as key concepts the experiences of my participants.
However, the findings convey a much larger system of competing values that complicate my participants’ attempts at self-empowerment and healing. These values are reinterpreted and redefined through the intersection of these competing values. By developing a way of conceptualizing survivorship that does not blame Filipino culture, I am able to further emphasize my participants’ experiences from a place of hope. For those who share in these stories, these stories of survivorship can help promote 95
understating and healing.12 These participants exemplify bell hooks’ (2000) understanding of the profound experience of love. She explains that, “when love is present the desire to dominate and exercise power cannot rule the day. All the great social movements for freedom and justice in our society have promoted a love ethic” (hooks,
2000, p. 98).
12 For further resources on support groups, therapy, counseling, and advocacy, see appendix page 112. 96
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Appendix
Protocol Number: XI5-74 Approval Date: January 11, 2016 Expiration Date: January 10,2017 Research Title: Filipina Survivors o f Sexual Violence Negotiating Family Values Researcher’s Name: Daphnee G. Valdez
San Francisco State University Filipina Survivors o f Sexual Violence Negotiating Family Values
Researcher’s Name: Daphnee G. Valdez Department: Ethnic Studies
L STUDY AIM, BACKGROUND AND DESIGN
a. State the research question(s) concisely. i) What is the relationship between Filipina survivors of sexual violence and family values? 1. What are indigenous Filipino family values? 2. What Filipino family values impact Filipina survivors of sexual violence from disclosing their stories? 3. What Filipinos’ perceptions of professional help-seek? 4. What were the barriers Filipina survivors of sexual violence faced when disclosing to their families? 5. How do Filipina survivors of sexual violence deal with these barriers and what is the impact? 6. What essential extremities did Filipina survivors of sexual violence need in order to disclose their stories to their families?
b. Include a brief ( 1 - 2 paragraphs), current, scholarly review of relevant literature that supports the purpose of the research.
According to the U.S. Census 2010, there are around 3 million Filipinos in America, making them the third largest immigrant group. Historically, the immigration process to the United States for Filipinos differ from other Asian groups because of their history of colonization by Spain and the Philippines as a U.S. Territory. The Filipino “American Nationals” were granted citizenship seemingly “blending” into the United States as assimilated and successful immigrants (Takaki, 1989; Wolf, 1997, p. 460). In a study done by psychologist Gregory Desierto (2014) about Filipino men who have experienced child sexual abuse, he notes, “Filipino Americans are the last to be studied, researched, and discussed in the psychology literature compared to other major racial groups especially among Asian Americans” (p. 21). From historical impacts on Filipino immigrants and the larger society’s assumption about Filipinos has made them into the invisible population, which is problematic within the context of research on
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Asian Americans and professional help seek. Overall, Asian Americans have the lowest rates of reported utilization of professional mental health services compared to other racial populations. For Asian/Asian American survivors of sexual violence there are even lower rates of seeking social services because of shame and family values (Lee & Law, 2002). Data collected from the Filipino American Community Epidemiology Study (FACES), found that “75 percent of Filipino Americans in their sample have never used any mental health services and 17 percent that did receive help.. .came from friends, family relatives, priests, ministers, herbalists, spiritualists or fortune tellers” (as cited in Zapata, 2011, p. 50). This includes other reasons why Filipinos under utilize professional clinicians, such as, family order, saving face, religion, language barriers and “lack of culturally competent services” (p. 53). From the “Lifecourse Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence and Help-Seeking Study” (2010) among the 87 Filipina respondents, they found that older generation Filipinas experienced less physical and sexual violence than other generations, younger Filipinas were more likely to report to police and legal services, but across generations, Filipina women “were unlikely to seek health care for intimate partners’ violence” (as cited in Yoshihama & Dabby, 2015). From these psychological studies, we can learn about the perceptions that Filipino women have about help-seek and their primary source of support, family. The Filipino family stems from a collectivist culture, where family has been defined as “the locus of identity formation, social learning, support, role development, and the first line in problem solving” (Cimmarusti, 1996, p. 66). Filipino psychologist E.J. David (2011) concurs that Filipino families are communalists in that it is a means of “the fundamental relatedness of individuals to each other...to fit in...and maintain harmonious relationships” (p. 127). Within the Filipino family there are three surface level values that all support the deeper value of a shared Filipino identity. Hiya (shame), utang na loob (indebt to others or gratitude), and pakikisama (group harmony) are the intersectional triad that creates the Filipino identity, kapwa (David, 2011; Cimmarusti, 1996; Pe-Pua & Protacio-Marcelino, 2000). According to Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino Psychology) “the Filipino value that drives and connects [Tao or people].. .is Kapwa” which is “the recognition that one shares an identity.. .with others and that one is not and should not be separated from others” (Enriquez as cited in David, 2011, p. 128-130). Yet, some of these values have been debated and expanded. And while scholars have challenged translations of indigenous Filipino values, the family unit has proven to be a focal point of the Filipino culture, where the family is “magnetic and [a] positive basis [for the development] of Filipino identity.. .it is also a deep source of stress and alienation.. .[leading] to internal struggles and extreme despair” (Wolf, 1997, p.458). While data suggests that Filipinas underutilize professional help-seek and prefer family support as a primary resource, further research is needed to analyze the relationship between Filipina survivors of sexual violence and family values.
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c. Provide a brief overview of the research, including • Research design o In-depth interviews will be conducted with self-identify women of Filipino descent and survivors of sexual violence, o The in-depth interviews will take place in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, during the months of January through March 2016. • Number and description of participants o Eight to fifteen self-identify women of Filipino descent and survivors of sexual violence will be interviewed. O All participants will be 18 years old and older. • Data collection methods 0 The researcher will use in-depth interviews to discuss the participants’ background, upbringing, and their experience as a survivor of sexual violence in relation to family values. In addition to this, the in-depth interviews will ask participants to define Filipino family values, the barriers they faced when trying to disclose their stories, and what promoted their disclosure. • Data analysis methods 0 Qualitative data analysis will be used and the research questions will be answered by identifying themes from the data analysis. • Describe how the data you collect will answer your research question. O This is an exploratory researcher where in-depth interviews will be used to collect data. d. What is the anticipated significance of this research to the field? The significance of this research to Ethnic Studies is that it will provide analysis and shed light on Filipina survivors of sexual violence and their relationship with indigenous family values such as hiya (shame), utang na loob (gratitude), and pakikisama (group harmony), through narrative research. The research will also present findings on the barriers they faced when trying to disclose their stories and what they needed in order to disclose their stories. With the data gathered from this study, further research can be done to identify possible tools used by the survivors to overcome their experiences with sexual violence. This can further develop a potential model for agency and empowerment for other Filipina survivors of sexual violence. This study’s analysis should also present how the Filipina survivors of sexual violence negotiate family values and can be used to educate and inform the larger society about mental health issues and services needed for Filipina survivors of sexual violence. This research should illuminate the lived experiences of these survivors while bringing forth their relationship with family values.
2. PARTICIPANT POPULATION
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a. Participants: Describe the participant pool (e.g., children in a class, undergraduates in a particular department, random shoppers at a mall) •State the number of participants. 0 8-15 participants. •State the age of participants. o 18 and over. o No maximum age limit of participants. •Are the participants considered a vulnerable population (e.g., prisoners, children, pregnant women, cognitively impaired)? o Participants are not part of a vulnerable population. •Are the participants already known to the researcher? o The researcher may know some of the participants from college-level courses.
b. State any inclusion/exclusion criteria used to select participants. 0 Participants must self-identify as a woman of Filipino descent and survivor of sexual violence. 0 Participants must be able to understand and communicate with basic English comprehension level because the interviews will be conducted in English.
c. Describe the recruiting process clearly. 1. An initial phone call and/or email will be made to potential participants that the researcher already knows. This phone call and/or email will be an invite to participate in an in-depth interview and also to pass the contact information and study information to potential future participants. 2. Once potential participants agree to take part in the in-depth interview, interested participants will be notified by phone of a specific meeting date and time so that the researcher can present the participants with an informed consent form, be present to answer questions, and give the participant a copy of the informed consent form. 3. The researcher will inform the participants that Dr. Eric Pido, PhD, a licensed/credentialed social worker, who is NIH certified, may be present during the in- depth interviews - at the request of the participants. 4. The consent process will take approximately a week to allow the participant to read, review, and sign the informed consent form and return with any further questions. 5. Once the participants sign the materials/consent forms and agree to participate in the research, this will grant permission to project, and the in-depth interviews will commence.
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d. Attach all recruiting materials—telephone or speech script, email or letter text, or copy of ad or flyer. • All recruitment materials are attached as appendices
e. State how researcher will gain access to the participants. • The researcher will gain access to participants through recruitment phone calls and/or emails. Other contact information will be given through personal contacts and snowball sampling. Access will be gained when participants agree to the in-depth interviews and have read and agree to the informed consent form.
3. STUDY PR O CED U RES a. Describe the details of the procedures and methodology. • Participants will participate in in-depth interviews. Information will be obtained from human subjects through interviews. These interviews will ask participants to describe their experiences as Filipina survivors of sexual violence in relation to family values. The interviews will also ask participants to present their background, upbringing, the barriers they faced when trying to disclose their stories and what they needed in order to disclose their stories. With the data gathered from the interviews, research can be done to gather common themes from the experiences of Filipina survivors of sexual violence and their relationship with family values.
b. List procedures in which the participants will take part in a step-by-step, chronological manner. • The researcher will meet the participants being interviewed at a location within the San Francisco Bay Area, California that is most convenient for all participants and/or at San Francisco State University at an agreed-upon private conference room/room during the weekdays after 7:00pm, during the weekends between the hours of 9:00am to 5:00pm, or at a time and day that is most convenient for the participant. The researcher will present the subjects with an informed consent form, be present to answer questions, and give the participant a copy of the informed consent form. • The researcher will inform the participants that Dr. Eric Pido, PhD, a licensed/credentialed social worker, who is NIH certified, may be present during the in-depth interviews - at the request of the participants. • The consent process will take approximately a week to allow the participant to read, review, and sign the informed consent form and return with any further questions. • Once the participants sign the materials/consent forms and agree to participate in the research, this will grant permission to project, and the in-depth interviews will commence. Page 5 of 21 107
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• The research will meet with the consenting participant at a location within the San Francisco Bay Area, California that is most convenient for the participant and/or at San Francisco State University at agreed-upon private conference room/room during the weekdays after 7:00pm, during the weekends between the hours of 9:00am to 5:00pm, or at a time and day that is most convenient for the participant. • The researcher will ask a series of open-ended questions.
c. Research details • All research will be conducted at a location within the San Francisco Bay Area, California that is most convenient for the participant and/or at San Francisco State University at agreed-upon private conference room/room during the weekdays after 7:00pm, during the weekends between the hours of 9:00am to 5:00pm, or at a time and day that is most convenient for the participant. • The researcher will present the subjects with an informed consent form, be present to answer questions, and give the participant a copy of the informed consent form. • The researcher will inform the participants that Dr. Eric Pido, PhD, a licensed/credentialed social worker, who is NIH certified, may be present during the in-depth interviews - at the request of the participants. • The consent process will take approximately a week to allow the participant to read, review, and sign the informed consent form and return with any further questions. • Once the participants sign the materials/consent forms and agree to participate in the research, this will grant permission to project, and the in-depth interviews will commence. • The research will meet with the consenting participant at a location within the San Francisco Bay Area, California that is most convenient for the participant and/or at San Francisco State University at an agreed-upon private conference room/room during the weekdays after 7:00pm, during the weekends between the hours of 9:00am to 5:00pm, or at a time and day that is most convenient for the participant. • The researcher will ask a series of open-ended questions. • The in-depth interviews will take up to 60 to 120 minutes. • All interviews will be audio-recorded. • The researcher will take notes during the interview, and non-participants are not allowed in the interviews. • The researcher will transcribe the audio-recorded interviews. • The researcher, who is a graduate student, trained in a semester-long course on research methods that taught her how to conduct qualitative and quantitative research, will conduct all interviews.
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d. State how data collection and analysis will answer the research question. • Using Grounded Theory to analyze the notes and transcripts of the interviews, two rounds of coding for each interview will be performed, in order to identify common themes that help describe the experiences of Filipina survivors of sexual violence when negotiating family values.
4. R ES EA R C H R ISKS a. State the risk(s), and then state how the researcher will lessen each particular risk. • There is a risk of loss of privacy. To minimize the risk of loss of privacy, because of the sensitivity of this study, the researcher will remove all names, use pseudonyms, and code data. In addition to this, any notes and/or research data taken will be placed in a locked file cabinet in the faculty advisor’s locked office, Ethnic Studies/Psychology Building (EP) 428, until it is scanned and uploaded onto the password-protected laptop. Encryption software will be used to keep data out of reach from anyone who is not the researcher. The researcher will minimize the risks, as she and Dr. Eric Pido, PhD, acting faculty advisor, will have sole access to the data. Any identifiable data will be destroyed after three years after the completion of the study. De-identified data will be stored indefinitely for possible future research consistent with the original purpose of the research. • There is also a risk of emotional trauma. The questions about disclosing their experiences with sexual violence and family values can invoke feelings of distress. In addition to having Dr. Eric Pido, PhD, whom has a license/credential in social work and NIH certified, the researcher will minimize the risk by providing a list of resources to the participants if needed. (Please see appendix). fe. Physical risks may include physical injury, aggravation of an existing condition, allergies to materials used in the research, etc. • There are no physical risks. c. Risks also include the potential loss of privacy, as well as possible psychological risk (anxiety, stress, depression), and uncomfortable emotions (anger, fear, sadness, discomfort). • There is a risk of loss of privacy. To minimize the loss of privacy, because of the sensitivity of this study, the researcher will remove all names, use pseudonyms, and code data. In addition to this, any notes and/or research data taken will be placed in a locked file cabinet in the faculty advisor’s locked office, Ethnic Studies/Psychology Building (EP) 428, until it is scanned and uploaded onto the password-protected laptop. Encryption software will be used to keep data out of reach from anyone who is not the researcher. The researcher will minimize the risks, as she and Dr. Eric Pido, PhD, acting faculty advisor, will have sole access to the data. Any identifiable data will be destroyed after three years after the completion of the study. De-identified data will be stored indefinitely for possible future research consistent with the original purpose of the research. Page 7 of 21 109
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• Should the participant at any time during the interview feel sudden rushes of uncomfortable emotions such as anger, fear, or sadness, the researcher will immediately stop the interview to ensure that the participant is comfortable again. Should the participant be comfortable again, the researcher will ask if they are still willing to answer the question or skip the question that triggered that emotion. At no point will the researcher force a participant to answer a question or return to a skipped question. The participant can end the interview at any time. If the participant decides to end the interview early, the data will be destroyed immediately.
d. Focus groups, use of real names, videotapes and photographs require extra measures to protect against loss of privacy. • No focus groups, real names, videotapes, nor photographers will be used in this study.
e. For sensitive research where loss of confidentiality may expose participants to excessive risk, such as prison, etc., a federal Certificate of Confidentiality http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubiects/guidance/certconf.htm may be required. • N/A £ Teachers conducting research on their own classes should consider the power imbalance between themselves and their students to avoid coercion in recruiting students for their study. To do this: — make sure the recruiting script or letter $o parents and children is an invitation to participate. Parents and the child must both have the opportunity to refuse. -A lso, tell parents and children that the child’s grade will not be affected whether they participate or not. If the researcher is assessing the results of a curricular model that would be taught anyway, he/she should ask permission of parents and children to use the data collected from the pre and post test scores. Then all students would participate in the assessments, but the researcher would use data only from those students who agree and who have permission to participate. • The researchers will not be the teachers of the participants. g. Research in the workplace also offers risk if management has access to the raw data, or data, if identified, could result in loss of employment, rank or salary. Data should be presented to supervisors only in the aggregate, as a finished report. • The research will not take place in the workplace. h. If researcher is using deception, add a line to the risks section: • The research is not using deception.
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Confidentiality refers to the security of the data. a) Describe any coding systems that will be used to protect the privacy of the participants and the security of the data. • To minimize the loss of privacy, because of the sensitivity of this study, the researcher will remove all names, use pseudonyms, and code data. In addition to this, any notes and/or research data • The researcher will destroy any identifiable data after three years after the completion of the study, once all the data has been transcribed, analyzed, and coded. De-identified data will be stored indefinitely for possible future research consistent with the original purpose of the research. The researcher and Dr. Eric Pido, PhD, acting faculty advisor, will have sole access to the data. •b) For some sensitive research where loss of confidentiality may expose participants to excessive risk, a federal Certificate of Confidentiality may be required. • N/A c) Describe how the confidentiality of the data will be protected. Describe the storage location, storage methods and final disposition of the data. Describe methods of maintaining security. Also, please note that you can keep all research data for as long as you would like, but the CSU policy for storing data states that all data must be kept for a minimum of three years. • During data analysis, all files will be kept in a password-protected laptop, which will contain encryption software to further protect the data. All other physical files such as interview notes will be shredded after being scanned and saved to the password-protected laptop. All research data will be kept with the researcher’s faculty advisor in locked cabinet in room EP 428. Any identifiable data will be destroyed after three years after the completion of the study. De-identified data will be stored indefinitely for possible future research consistent with the original purpose of the research. The researcher will minimize the risks, as she and Dr. Eric Pido, PhD, acting faculty advisor, will have sole access to the data.
d) Please remember to include the encryption statement: “All research data will be stored in an encrypted document on a password protected computer.”
6. BENEFITS a. If there are no direct/guaranteed benefits, state this; • There are no direct benefits to participants.
7. PAYMENT If there will be no compensation, state this. • There will be no payment for participant. Page 9 of 21 I l l
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8. COSTS If there will be no costs, state this. • There are no costs to participants.
9. ACADEMIC CREDIT • N/A
10. ALTERNATIVES a. Usually, the alternative in social/behavioral/educationa] research is not to participate in the research. • The alternative is not to participate in the research.
11. CONSENT/ASSENT PROCESS AND DOCUMENTATION OF CONSENT/ASSENT
a. The consent/assent process begins with the recruitment of participants, which was described in Section 2. 1. During the recruitment process and at the interview, participants will be informed about the study procedure; 2. Participants will be allowed the opportunity to ask questions of the researcher at any point during the research project and researcher will answer all their questions; 3. All participants will be given as much time as possible to make a decision about whether or not to participate (the goal is a week within initial contact, but the researcher is flexible); 4. The interviews will take place in an agreed upon location, time, and day between the researcher and participant; 5. All of the participants will be asked to read, review, and sign the informed consent form and return with any further questions, prior to participating in any aspect of the research project; 6. Participants will receive a signed copy of the consent form.
All information and responses will only be accessed and available to the researcher. All notes and files will be kept in a locked file cabinet in EP 428 until it can be uploaded onto the password-protected laptop.
b. State that the participants will receive a signed copy of the consent/assent form.
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Please see attached Inform Consent Form.
For information on what conditions must be met to waive or alter elements of informed consent, see 46.116 (c) at http://www.hhs.goV/ohrp/humansubiects/guidance/45cfr46.htm#46.1 16 For information on what conditions must be met to waive documentation of signed consent see 46.117 (d). http://www.hhs.goV/ohrp/humansubiects/guidance/45cfr46.htm#46.117
c. Because of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) regulations protecting private health information, researchers must receive permission from participants to review their medical charts or histories. Please include a HIPAA release form if necessary. (We will accept other institutions’ standard HIPAA authorization or release forms.)
12. INVESTIGATOR'S QUALIFICATIONS a. State the researcher’s qualifications to conduct this specific research project.
b. The researcher is an Ethnic Studies graduate student at San Francisco State University (SFSU). She has completed a graduate methodologies course, which demonstrates competency in conducting such research. She has been doing research since her undergraduate career at SFSU in the Sociology and Asian American Studies departments, and has experience conducting research. In addition to this, she has more than three years of experience as a mentor and is currendy participating in education and community spaces. The researcher has also completed an online human subjects course from NIH and received her certificate.
c. Dr. Eric Pido, PhD, is the advisor of this study. He is a professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University and is a trained social scientist with experience in social work and qualitative research. He has also completed an online human subjects course from NIH and received his certificate.
13. FUNDING SOURCES • No Funding.
14. R EFER EN CES Provide the full citation (including title) for any references cited in this protocol.
Cimmarusti, R. A. (April 01,1996). Exploring Aspects Of Filipino-American Families. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 22, 2,205-217.
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David, E. J. R. (2011). Filipino-American postcolonial psychology: Oppression, colonial mentality, and decolonization. Bloomington, IN: Authorhouse.
Delgado-Infante, M. L., & Ofreneo, M. A. P. (April 22,2014). Maintaining a "good girl" position: Young Filipina women constructing sexual agency in first sex within Catholicism. Feminism & Psychology.
Desierto, G. (2014). "Kumibo ka naman diyap": Childhood sexual abuse disclosures o f Filipino American men.
Gong, F., Gage, S.-J. L., & Tacata, L. A. (2003). Helpseeking behavior among Filipino Americans: A cultural analysis of face and language. Journal of Community Psychology, 31, 5,469-488.
Lee, M. Y. P. D., & Law, P. F. M. P. D. (January 01,2002). Perception of Sexual Violence Against Women in Asian American Communities. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 10, 2,3-25.
Pe-Pua, R., & Protacio-Marcelino, E. A. (January 01,2000). Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino psychology): A legacy of Virgilio G. Enriquez. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 3, 1, 49-71.
Takaki, R. T. (1989). Strangers from a different shore: A history ofAsian Americans. Boston: Little, Brown.
Wolf, D. L. (January 01,1997). Family Secrets: Transnational Struggles among Children of Filipino Immigrants. Sociological Perspectives: S p : Official Publication of the Pacific Sociological Association, 40, 3,455.
Yoshihama, M. & Dabby, C. (2015). Facts & Stats 2014: Domestic Violence in Asian Homes. San Francisco, CA: Asian & Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence.
Zapata, S. B. (2011). Filipino American identity and clinical implication
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Protocol Number: XI5-74 Approval Date: January 11,2016 Expiration Date: January 10,2017 Research Title: Filipina Survivors of Sexual Violence Negotiating Family Values Researcher’s Name: Daphnee G. Valdez
Appendix #1: Email Script for Qualitative Interviews
Dear (Name of Filipina survivor of sexual violence)
My name is Daphnee Valdez, and 1 am an Ethnic Studies graduate student at San Francisco State University.
I am reaching out to you in regards to my study on the experiences of Filipina survivors of sexual violence and their relationship with family values. I am seeking eight to fifteen volunteers. I will be interviewing volunteers for approximately 60 to 120 minutes. Volunteers must fulfill the following qualifications for this study:
1. Must self-identify as a woman and having Filipino descent. 2. Must be 18 years or older. 3. Must self-identify as a survivor of sexual violence.
If you do not fulfill these qualifications for this study, I would greatly appreciate if you send this proposal to someone who may be interested in participating. Pseudonyms will be used to protect the identities of participants.
Your participation in my research is voluntary.
Thank you for your time. If you are interested or have any questions concerning this interview, please feel free to contact me at (925) 978-3475 or at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Daphnee Valdez
M.A. Candidate Ethnic Studies San Francisco State University
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Protocol Number: XI5-74 Approval Date: January 11,2016 Expiration Date: January 10,2017 Research Title: Filipina Survivors of Sexual Violence Negotiating Family Values Researcher’s Name: Daphnee G. Valdez
Appendix #2: Telephone Script for Qualitative Interviews
Hi, my name is Daphnee Valdez. I am a graduate student in the Ethnic Studies Department at San Francisco State University. For my master’s thesis I am conducting a study on the experiences of Filipina survivors of sexual violence and their relationship with family values. I am reaching out to you to see if I can interview you and/or any interested participants who self-identifies as a woman of Filipino descent, a survivor of sexual violence, and are 18 years of age or older. The interview will take approximately one to two hours. The interview will take place at a location within the San Francisco Bay Area, California that is most convenient for you and/or at San Francisco State University at an agreed-upon private conference room/room during the weekdays after 7:00pm, during the weekends between the hours of 9:00am to 5:00pm, or at a time and day that is most convenient for you. If you are interested, know of others who may be interested in participating, or have any questions about this study please contact me. I can be reached via email at dvaldez@mail .sfsu.edu and by phone at (925) 978- 3475. Thank you and have a good day.
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Protocol Number: XI5-74 Approval Date: January 11,2016 Expiration Date: January 10,2017 Research Title: Filipina Survivors of Sexual Violence Negotiating Family Values Researcher’s Name: Daphnee G. Valdez
Appendix #3: Questions for Qualitative Interviews Interview Date:______Location:______Interview began:______Interview ended:______
Filipina Survivor Participant’s Interview Questions *For this study I will ask questions regarding your background, your experience as a Filipina survivor of sexual violence, and family values. You may refrain from answering any particular question that causes you any discomfort. A. IMMIGRATION & FAMILY BACKGROUND 1. When and how did your first ancestors) come to America? 2. What do you know about your family (parents & grandparents) in the Philippines prior to immigration? 1. Who did you grow up with? 2. What kind of jobs did your parents/guardians have? a. If your parents/guardians were self-employed, what business (es) did they own? b. Did you work for your parents/guardians? If yes, describe what it was like working for your parents (hours, responsibilities). c. If both your parents/guardians worked, who took care of you?
3. Describe your relationship with your parents/guardians as you were growing up. a. What kinds of conflicts did you have with them? (school, college, careers, dating, gender roles, etc.) b. Did you seek out assistance/support from others (i.e. therapy, priest, other Filipinos, etc.) to resolve these conflicts?
4. Describe your relationship with your parents/guardians as a young adult (late teens, early 20s). a. What kinds of conflicts did you have with them? b. Did you seek out assistance/support from others (i.e. therapy, priest, other Filipinos, etc.) to resolve these conflicts?
5. What is your relationship like with your parents/guardians now? How has it changed? a. What kinds of conflicts do you have with them? Page 15 of 21 117
Protocol Number: XI5-74 Approval Date: January 11,2016 Expiration Date: January 10, 2017 Research Title: Filipina Survivors of Sexual Violence Negotiating Family Values Researcher’s Name: Daphnee G. Valdez
(Occupation, dating/marriage, having/raising children) b. Do you seek out assistance/support from others to resolve these conflicts
B. FILIPINO FAMILY VALUES 1. How do you define Filipino family values? Can you name some characteristics of these values? 2. Have you heard of the term hiya (shame)? Who taught you this and how did you learn its’ meaning? 3. Have you heard of the term utang na loob (gratitude/indebt to others)? Who taught you this and how did you learn its’ meaning? 4. Have you heard of the term pakikisama (harmony)? Who taught you this and how did you learn its’ meaning? 5. Have you heard of the term kapwa (shared identity)? Who taught you this and how did you learn its’ meaning? 6. How have Filipino family values impacted your life choices (i.e. career, education, relationships, etc.)? C. FILIPINA IDENTITY & SEXUAL AGENCY *“Sexual agency...[is] the ability to recognize one’s sexual feelings or desires and to act upon these desires... the experience of the self as a sexual being” (Martin, 1996; Philips, 2000, Tomlan as cited in Delgado-Infante & Ofreneo, 2014, p. 391).
1. How do you define Filipina or the Filipino woman identity? 2. Who taught you what the Filipina or the Filipino woman identity should be? 3. How did they teach you about the Filipina or the Filipino woman identity? 4. Did your identity as a Filipina or Filipino woman conflict with Filipino family values? If so, how and/or why?
5. How were you taught about sexual agency from your family?
6. What were you taught about sexual agency from your family?
7. If you were taught about sexual agency from your family, what factors played into this lesson?
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Protocol Number: XI5-74 Approval Date: January 11, 2016 Expiration Date: January 10,2017 Research Title: Filipina Survivors o f Sexual Violence Negotiating Family Values Researcher’s Name: Daphnee G. Valdez
8. If you were not taught about sexual agency from your family, what factors played against this lesson?
D. SURVIVING SEXUAL VIOLENCE & DISCLOSING TO FAMILY 1. When and how did you first tell your family about your survivorship of sexual violence? 2. Who did you disclose your story to and why them? 3. What was your relationship with them like before you disclosed your story to them? 4. How did they initially react when you told them? 5. What was your relationship with them like after you disclosed your story? 6. What were some barriers you faced when trying to disclose your story to your family? 7. What did you need in order to disclose your story to your family? E. FUTURE OUTLOOK 1. If you know and understand the term kapwa (shared identity), how has it shaped your journey as a survivor of sexual violence?
2. Do you have any concerns about other Filipina survivors of sexual violence when trying to disclose their stories to their families?
3. Have you disclosed your story of sexual violence survivorship to your family?
4. If yes, what advice would you give yourself before you disclosed your survivorship to your family?
5. If no, why not? And do you plan to?
6. This study examines the experiences of Filipina survivors of sexual violence when they disclose their story to their Filipino family. a. What do you think are the concerns/issues that Filipina survivors of sexual violence have that you or as a group should care about? W hy? b. What else do you think we should focus on or know about the experiences of Filipina survivors of sexual violence when disclosing their story to their families? 7. How has your experience with disclosing your survivorship to your family impacted your sense of kapwa (shared identity), community, personal, and professional growth?
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Protocol Number: XI5-74 Approval Date: January 11,2016 Expiration Date: January 10,2017 Research Title: Filipina Survivors of Sexual Violence Negotiating Family Values Researcher’s Name: Daphnee G. Valdez
San Francisco State University Informed Consent to Participate in a Research Filipina Survivors of Sexual Violence Negotiating Family Values
A. PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND The purpose of this study is to document the experiences of Filipina survivors of sexual violence and their relationship with family values. The researcher, Daphnee G. Valdez, is a graduate student at San Francisco State University, conducting research for a master’s degree in Ethnic Studies. You are being asked to participate in this study because you self-identify as a woman of Filipino descent, a survivor of sexual violence, and are 18 years of age or older. The research question I aim to report is: What is the relationship between Filipina survivors of sexual violence and family values?
B. PROCEDURES If you agree to participate in this research study, the following will occur: • The researcher will present you with an informed consent form and be present to answer questions. The consent process will take approximately a week to allow you to read, review, and sign the informed consent form and return with any further questions. Due to the sensitivity of this topic, names will be removed, replaced with pseudonyms, and data will be coded. • The interview is semi-structured with predetermined questions that will be sent prior to the interview, and you will be interviewed for approximately 60 to 120 minutes about your background, your experience as a Filipina survivor of sexual violence, and family values. • The interview will take place at a location within the San Francisco Bay Area, California that is most convenient for you and/or at San Francisco State University at an agreed-upon private conference room/room during the weekdays after 7:00pm, during the weekends between the hours of 9:00am to 5:00pm, or at a time and day that is most convenient for you. • The interview will be audio-recorded to ensure accuracy in reporting your statements. • The researcher estimates that the total time commitment to participate in the full study will be approximately one to two hours.
C. RISKS There is a risk of loss of privacy. To minimize the risk of loss of privacy, because of the sensitivity of this study, the researcher will remove all names, use pseudonyms, and code data. In addition to this, any notes and/or research data taken will be placed in a locked file cabinet in the faculty advisor’s locked office, Ethnic Studies/Psychology Building (EP) 428, until it is scanned and uploaded onto the password-protected laptop. Encryption software will be used to keep data out of reach from anyone who is not the researcher. The researcher will minimize the risks, as she and Dr. Eric Pido, PhD, acting faculty advisor, will have sole access to the data. Any identifiable data will be destroyed after three years after the completion of the study. De-identified data will be stored indefinitely for possible future research consistent with the original purpose of the research. Should you at any time during the interview feel sudden rushes of uncomfortable emotions such as anger, fear, or sadness, the researcher will immediately stop the interview to ensure that you are comfortable again. Should you be comfortable again, the researcher will ask if you are still willing to answer the question or skip the question that triggered that emotion. At no point will the researcher force you to answer a question or return to a skipped question. You can end the interview at any time. If you decide to end the interview early, the data will be destroyed immediately.
D. CONFIDENTIALITY The researcher is a mandated reporter, per campus policy, and she is liable to file a report if she suspects child or elderly abuse. Due to the sensitivity of this study, the research will remove all names, use pseudonyms, and code data. During data
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Protocol Number: XI5-74 Approval Date: January 11,2016 Expiration Date: January 10, 2017 Research Title: Filipina Survivors o f Sexual Violence Negotiating Family Values Researcher’s Name: Daphnee G. Valdez analysis, all files will be kept in a password-protected laptop, which will contain encryption software to further protect the data. All other physical files such as interview notes will be shredded after being scanned and saved to the password- protected laptop. All research data will be kept with the researcher’s faculty advisor in a locked cabinet. Any identifiable data will be destroyed after three years after the completion of the study. De-identified data will be stored indefinitely for possible future research consistent with the original purpose of the research. The researcher and her acting faculty advisor will have sole access to the data.
E. DIRECT BENEFITS There will be no direct benefits to the participant.
F. COSTS There will be no cost to you for participating in this research.
G. COMPENSATION There will be no compensation for participating in the research.
H. ALTERNATIVES The alternative is not to participate in the research.
I. QUESTIONS You have spoken with Daphnee G. Valdez about this study and have had your questions answered. If you have any further questions about the study, you may contact the researcher by email [email protected] or you may contact the researcher’s advisor, Professor Eric Pido [email protected].
Questions about your rights as a study participant, or comments or complaints about the study, may also be addressed to the Office for the Protection of Human Subjects at 415: 338-1093 [email protected].
J. CONSENT You have been given a copy of this consent form to keep. PARTICPATION IN THIS RESEARCH IS VOLUNTARY. You are free to decline to participate in this research study or to withdraw your participation at any point without penalty. Your decision whether or not to participate in this research will have no influence on your present or future status at San Francisco State University.
Signature______Date:______Research Participant
Signature______Date:______Researcher
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Protocol Number: XI5-74 Approval Date: January 11.2016 Expiration Date: January 10,2017 Research Title: Filipina Survivors of Sexual Violence Negotiating Family Values Researcher’s Name: Daphnee G. Valdez
Appendix #5: Resources List Handout
Dear Participant,
This handout has resources provided by 2 -1-1 and www.21 Lore. 2 -1-1 is a number you can call for information and support about various resources such as financial, domestic health or disaster-related. 2- l-l is a free, confidential referral and information helpline and website that connects people from all communities and of all ages to the essential health and human services, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This website, http://211 bavarea.org/ specifically provides resources within the Bay Area where you can search for resources within the county that applies to you.
Alameda Conntv Name: Phone: Website: 24 Hour Oakland Parent Teacher Children Center (510) 534-6030 WWW Tri-Valley Haven (925)449-5842 WWW JKVwJfowftKRflGA « Building Futures with Women and Children (510) 357-0205 Lao Family Community Development, Inc. (510) 533-8850 Alameda Health System (510)437-4688
Contra Costa Connty Name: Phone: Website. STAND! For Families Free of Violence 1-888-215-5555 M tyJJw m w stomdKkm
Contra Costa Crisis Center 1-800-833-2900 iffiSp' to w w jo iH s^ n iv jo w Community Health for Asian Americans Antioch. (925) 778-1667 Richmond: (510)237-5777 Asian Community Mental Health (510) 869-7200 feeisp;;i'www .aemfe..©Fjgf' Contra Costa Children and Family Pleasant Hill: (925)602-9300 Services Antioch: (925) 522-7400 Richmond: (510)231-8100
Marin County Name: Phone: Website: Mann Family Therapy Center (415) 892-0764 Norma J Morris Center For Healing From Child Abuse (415) 937-1954 w w w Marin Advocates for Children Abuse Prevention Council (415) 507-9016
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Mendocino County Name: Phone: Website: Project Sanctuary Inland: (707)462-9196 Coast: (707)961-1507 UCS Telehealth 1-866-740-6502 m w . ssK«a!dbeailil&. (£wsep Consolidated Tribal Health Project (707)463-4357 1-800-642-2847 Long Valley Health Center Counseling (707)984-6131 ext. 290 *l»' Santa Cruz County Name: Phone. Website: County of Santa Cruz Human Services (831)454-2273 wwm\sm»KmihmMm§ief\iDe5,mw Department Family and Children’s Services Women’s Crisis Support Defensa De Mujeres (831) 722-4532 www.wssH&te.Qt^ Pacific Treatment Association (831)423-3303 Survivors Healing Center (831)423-7601 www .Sfi£nw0r^ihealai}i5ccn San Francisco County Name: Phone: Website: Glide Memorial United Methodist Church Glide Foundation (415)674-6023 IRIS Center (415) 864-2364 www jHisccator/M? Family Support Services of The Bay Area (415)861-4060 www ..fssd®-s£ The Sage Project (415)905-5050 WWW3St8£Sf.iC*r£ San Francisco Department of Public Health - Child & (415)206-8386 wwwdpfe.sfeans Adolescent Sexual Abuse Resource Center San Mateo County Name: Phone: Website: Crisis Intervention and Suicide Hotline (650)579-0350 www. sCar-vtsEa. Rape Trauma Services A Center For Healing And (650)692-7273 w w » rai^MiM Solano County Name: Phone: Website: Safequest Solano 1-866-487-7233 W W W .'SaS £J^EIC5JL mw Page 21 of 21 Certificate of Completion The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Extramural Research certifies that Daphnee Valdez successfully completed 1he NIH Web-based training course "Protecting Human Research Participants" Date of completion: 09/22/2015 Certification Number: 1857825 124