Determinants of the Proactiveness of Female Migrant Workers with Psychological Distress Seeking Allied Health Services

Ritualistic Institution and Livelihood Fragility of Female Migrant Workers in Urban China

China’s rapid urbanization can be attributed, in part, to the contribution of female migrant workers. However, they are a socially vulnerable group. In order to explore the vulnerability of female migrant workers and its reasons, questionnaires and in-depth interviews were conducted with female migrant workers in Guangdong and Hubei provinces, China, and 992 questionnaires and 147 interview data were finally collected as the research object. The descriptive statistical analysis was conducted with the quantitative data to reveal the livelihood vulnerability of female migrant workers and its reasons, and qualitative data were used to corroborate and consolidate the argument. “Ritualistic institution” is the key to understanding the livelihood fragility of female migrant workers. The policy on migrant workers has weakened the concept of family, making it difficult for families, which are on the fringes of the national policy vision, to benefit from the system. Therefore, the livelihood costs of female migrant workers have increased. Traditional gender norms also make it difficult for migrant women to enjoy the limited benefits and resources of the policy. This weakens the authoritative role of the policy in solving the problem of livelihood vulnerability for migrant workers, particularly women. This shows that China’s policy on migrant workers is somewhat symbolic. Through “family separation” and “ritualistic institution”, it can be seen that China’s urbanization is a modern development activity that carries urban bias and lacks humanistic care value. This is bound to result in the neglect of human development, gender differences, and family, making it difficult for rural migrant women to survive. This in-depth study seeks to find solutions to the problems prevalent under the cover of contemporary Chinese modernity.

The Sexual Abuse and Neglect of "Left-behind" Children in Rural China

The separation of rural families in China has resulted in a large number of "left-behind" children, who are frequently subjected to sexual abuse. Failing and insufficient tutelage owing to the migration of parents into cities and the distinctive rural living environment (e.g. drab and enclosed habitats) are the major causes of the high incidence of sexual abuse against left-behind children. We have applied the concept of "ritualized law" (lihua de fa) to delineate the powerless position of the state legal system vis-á-vis the sexual assaults committed against left-behind children in rural China. Pervasive and ingrained traditional customs and rituals, and the intermediary relationships between familiar people, have restricted the reach of the judicial system in rural areas. Moreover, deeply rooted traditional beliefs and the primacy of interpersonal (and inter-familiar) harmony over legal and formal institutions have weakened the legal system and, in many cases, allowed sexual offenders to avoid prosecution.

Ritualized Law and Livelihood Fragility of Left-Behind Women in Rural China

Family separation in rural China has led to a considerably large number of left-behind women who have to deal with livelihood fragility. The Department for International Development (DFID) framework focusing on households provides a base to understand the livelihood fragility of these women. Based on this framework and the existing field research, this study identifies that the national macro-strategy of unsynchronized development of industrialization, informatization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization leads to a separated migration model for rural families. Furthermore, the process of social modernization increases the fragility risk of how the left-behind family functions. The traditional gender culture expectations also directly affect rural families to make the livelihood strategy choice of, “male working outside, female taking care of home”. Based on the above theoretical research, this study extracts the concept of “ritualized law” to shed light on gender differentiation and family separation. A number of formal social security institutions have been established to promote the development of farmers, however, the ingrained culture gender differentiation encourages men to work in the profitable urban industry while women work in the field of unpaid agriculture and shoulder the responsibility of housework. This makes the formal institution a symbolic ornament for left-behind women, while they are forced to stay in rural areas and suffer from the fragility of livelihood.