Women on the Outside: The female spouses of men incarcerated for terrorism in the Philippines

In early 2019, UN Women supported research in the Philippines on the situations of 14 female family members of spouses who were either facing charges for terrorism-related cases or already convicted. The research included four focus group discussions with the female family members and validation with the incarcerated spouses. It was intended to capture their experiences and to identify whether common patterns exist, including in their vulnerabilities to recruitment and engagement in violent extremism.

The research found that common problems existed within the families, including psychosocial and socio-economic vulnerabilities, a lack of access to justice, and no gender-sensitive religious or otherplatforms for support. The research concludes that these issues must be addressed. Minimizing stigma toward the wives of men detained on terror-related charges and supporting them to prevent the radicalization of their children can limit their vulnerability to engaging in violent extremist activity themselves.