Transnational marriages and the health and well-being of Thai migrant women living in Norway

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the health and well-being of Thai immigrant women in transnational marriages. Design/methodology/approach Interviews with 13 Thai women living in Norway who have (had) a Norwegian spouse/partner were conducted and the transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings Initial culture shock and a mixture of employment issues, transnational ties, marital relationships and social networks intertwined to influence women’s health and well-being over time. Sending financial remittances to family in Thailand could be challenging due to struggles to obtain suitable employment, working in low-paid physical jobs and spouses’ lack of understanding of this cultural practice. Over time, these intertwined factors led to chronic stress and deteriorating health for some. Thai networks and friendships were important for emotional and practical support. Practical implications More organised assistance may be beneficial to facilitate integration, reduce social isolation and improve employment opportunities. Originality/value Research on Thai women has so far focused on their position as immigrant wives and the vulnerabilities to exploitation and abuse they face. Focusing on only discourses around marital relationships may be limiting when trying to understand factors that influence the health and well-being of Thai immigrant women.

“Living like I am in Thailand”: stress and coping strategies among Thai migrant masseuses in Oslo, Norway

“…This dynamic, engagement with the arrival country and maintenance of cultural ties, provides the opportunity to essentially live in two spaces. Thai migrant women often have difficulty finding suitable and long-term full time employment in Norway and this may lead some women to draw upon their networks to establish their own businesses and create their own employment opportunity [15, 16]. Massage shops and restaurants, owned by Thai migrants, are locales where women navigate sexualized stereotypes about Thai women, develop strategies to maintain their own safety and vie to be acknowledged as legitimate business persons [17, 18].…”

“…However, Thai women who used an interpreter were more likely to receive counselling and specialist referral than those who did not [19]. In another qualitative study of Thai migrant women we found that some women can struggle to juggle the demands of their life in Norway and their roles as breadwinners, wives, and mothers with children in Thailand which can have a negative effect on health and wellbeing [16]. A non-governmental organisation (NGO) report found that Thai women are among the highest overnight migrant users of emergency shelters, which implies that Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) may be a challenge [20].…”

“…To gain insight into the transnational lives of women living in Norway we chose to collect firsthand accounts from women working in Thai massage shops. This locale, combined with the use of a Thai interpreter, helped us reach women working on the periphery of the mainstream Norwegian economy who have lower Norwegian literacy level as compared to participants in previous studies [16].…”

Accessing public healthcare in Oslo, Norway: the experiences of Thai immigrant masseuses

“…Outreach through Thai networks, could improve Thai migrants’ knowledge of the Norwegian healthcare system. The strength of Thai networks as information sources has been documented by another Norwegian study and a network approach to disseminate information appears warranted [6, 30]. Providing more health systems information in the fifty-hour training course that marriage migrants take when they arrive in Norway could also help reach this group.…”

Title Transnationalism and Genealogy: An Introduction

“…All of these could lead to expected or unanticipated outcomes in the marriages and family lives. While there is a significant amount of research on how transnational marriage has shaped family relations, including imbalance of husband-wife power, division of labor within the household, marital satisfaction or dissatisfaction, risks, vulnerabilities, tensions, abuses, termination of marriage, and even health problems (e.g., Charsley 2005;Freeman 2005;Ko 2012;Kudo 2016;Straiton et al 2019;Wang 2007), the impact of transnational marriage on lineage remains a blank spot.…”