and financial burden unbearable. Some detained women juggle odd jobs
to help alleviate their families’ hardships. One shared her sentiments: “Mas
iintindihin pa ba nila ’yung mga anak kong naiwan sa kanila. ’Yung para sa
akin ay para sa mga anak ko na lang. Kaya nu’ng nakulong po ako, pinilit ko
pong magkaroon ng hanapbuhay dito sa loob. Nagsipag po ako para hindi
ako maging pabigat kahit nasa kulungan ako (Would they really bother for
my children when they have to worry about their own? Whatever’s for me
is for my children. That’s why when I was imprisoned, I strived to have
some source of livelihood here. I work hard so I wouldn’t be a burden while
in prison).”
Few women deprived of liberty have access to livelihood programs. Those
who do avail of opportunities to help ease their family’s financial burden
with the little they earn. Other WDL resort to working for other detainees by
fetching water, cleaning, doing laundry work, and giving manicures to earn a
meager amount which they save for their families.
Many participants have families who live far away from where they are
detained and simply cannot afford to visit them. A woman deprived
of liberty described, “Naapektuhan ang aking mga kapatid dahil hindi
makadalaw nang madalas dahil minsan walang pamasahe. Ang mga anak
ko, nagsitigil sa pag-aaral. Naglalabada ako at kahit kakarampot lang ang
bayad ay iniipon ko para may maibibigay ako ’pag dumadalaw ang mga anak
ko (My siblings are affected because they can’t afford the fares to visit me.
My children have stopped going to school. I wash other inmates’ clothes
and even if the pay is measly, I save it so that I have something to give my
children when they visit).”
In other facilities where women do not have access to economic activities,
those who come from poor households are unfortunately deprived of family
visits. Without seeing their families, detainees feel that their loved ones may
have forgotten them.
Some women deprived of liberty said they were abandoned by their
husbands or partners after being imprisoned. One shared, “Ang dati
kong partner naghanap na ng iba dahil siguro hindi ko natugunan ang
pangangailangan niya bilang asawa (My former partner looked for someone
else probably because I couldn’t fulfill his needs as a spouse).” Those who
still have husbands fear that the lack of provisions for conjugal visits in their
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