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    Human trafficking in Mindanao : personal narratives and local perspectives : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Anthropology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2018) Lennox Townsend, Amie L.
    Academic as well as popular attention to human trafficking has increased dramatically in recent years, while the demands for immediate action have meant that counter-measures, from political legislation to direct intervention, have often preceded research-based insights. Researchers have demonstrated the value of close research in understanding this phenomenon. However, such in-depth local research is still an emerging area, and little work has been done on the Philippines specifically. In Mindanao, known issues include various forms of labour trafficking, sex trafficking, underage soldiers, and trafficking of migrants. Human trafficking in Mindanao is a complex problem, both in terms of the multiple forms of trafficking that occur and the Philippines’ unique social setting. The purpose of this research has been to explore how human trafficking in Mindanao relates to wider social processes. I lived in Eastern Mindanao for five months of fieldwork, from December 2015 to May 2016. During this time, I talked with and interviewed people who had experienced exploitative labour, human trafficking, or trafficking-like practices, whose life stories are at the centre of this research. I also spoke with government and NGO workers from anti-trafficking and related agencies who provided insights into trafficking and local conditions, as well as relevant community members such as former migrants and sexual labourers. In this thesis, my original contribution to knowledge is an exploration and analysis of the social context which influences human trafficking in Mindanao, based on first-person accounts which are contextualised in the wider society and theoretically analysed through a framework of structural, symbolic, and compounding violence. Drawing on anthropological approaches to violence, I have considered human trafficking as a form of violence in the context of multiple violences. Within this framework I also present the idea of compounding violence as a lens to explore and conceptualise the ways that violence often leads to further violence. My findings suggest that human trafficking in Mindanao is an outcome and extension of local social conditions, not separate to normal social processes and realities, and one manifestation of wider compounding structural violence. At the same time, I argue that the narratives from those who have experienced trafficking also reveal deep and complex cultural, social, and personal expressions of meaning, resilience, and hope within constrained, unequal, and even violent circumstances.
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    The exploitation of children as soldiers in the Philippines : an analysis of issues and challenges in social work practice : a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2006) De Ocampo, Ma. Irene Ordoña
    This study aims to explore and analyze how social workers directly working with child soldiers perceive the child soldier phenomenon in the Philippines. Specifically, it aims to come up with a picture of the child soldier phenomenon in the country, analyze the various factors or conditions contributory to the participation of children in armed conflict, explore the issues and challenges the child soldier phenomenon poses in social work practice and draw lessons or insights that can contribute to the improvement of current social work practice. This qualitative study used personal interview and instrumental case study methods in data gathering. Selected regional social workers of the government's welfare department, who have handled cases of children involved in armed conflict, served as the main source of information. They were selected through purposive sampling. Likewise, instrumental case study method was used to strengthen and enrich the data gathered using 31 selected case files of child soldiers. The information was analyzed using an ecological and structural framework. This research has shown that the child soldier phenomenon in the country is multidimensional and connected with various factors internal and external to the child. The existence of the phenomenon could not be attributed solely to a single factor but rather to combination of factors in the child's environment, which serve as a cumulative force that pushes the child to participate in the armed group. This study put forth the need for a multifaceted approach in social work practice with child soldier where all systems - micro, meso, exo, macro - in the child's immediate and distant environment are considered in the entire helping process. Likewise, it stressed the need for social work actions that provides not only immediate relief to individual child and her/his family, but also longer-term solutions that targets oppressive and unjust institutional and structural order in the society. It affirmed the importance of transformative social work practice where interventions go beyond mere palliative care and the importance of reflective practice where reflection-in-action is integral to the performance of social work profession.