Proximity, Access, and Time: How Indonesian Female Domestic Workers Negotiate Their Therapeutic Landscapes and Networks in Hong Kong

Keywords: therapeutic landscapes, therapeutic networks, narrative analysis, female domestic workers, Hong Kong
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Sunday
Session Start / End Time: 2/27/2022 03:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/27/2022 05:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 40

Abstract

The therapeutic landscapes and networks concepts have been widely studied and applied to different population groups such as older adults, immigrants, college students, etc. The concepts have also been used to explore different landscapes, such as green and blue spaces, in many countries worldwide. However, the implementations of therapeutic landscapes and networks on understudied populations such as female domestic workers (FDWs) working and living in foreign countries who experienced restrictive space-time constraints remain limited. Drawing on thirty-one interviews with Indonesian FDWs in Hong Kong and 190 survey responses, this study investigated the everyday lives of Indonesian FDWs and how they negotiated their therapeutic landscapes and networks with uncertainties related to their employment. I used qualitative GIS and thematic analysis to explore their negotiations in creating, finding, and sustaining their therapeutic landscapes and networks. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed in MAXQDA software, and I produced qualitative maps in ArcGIS Pro. The findings illustrated three common themes in negotiating therapeutic landscapes and networks: proximity, access, and time. Proximity to available therapeutic landscapes and networks influenced the decision to determine which places and networks are viewed as therapeutic. Their employers' residential areas and designated rest day schedules greatly affected access to therapeutic landscapes and networks. Lastly, I uncovered that therapeutic landscapes and networks among Indonesian FDWs in Hong Kong changed over time. Changes in their employment status and placement play an important role in maintaining FDWs' therapeutic landscapes and networks.