Philippines

Women from the Philippines are one of the largest groups of female migrants from Asia, and the largest category migrating for marriage to Australians. Furthermore, they are the most common category of female marriage migrants internationally. An important issue for Filipino woman marrying an Australian is the continued support that they can offer their families. Like women of other ethnic backgrounds, Filipino women have similar desires to be romanced, have good marriages, loving husbands, children and, in some cases, a career. Many Australian men also said they were looking for love and a good family life. Some mentioned companionship and marriage as a way to ease their loneliness.While economics is often a major factor in a Filipino woman's decision to marry an Australian resident, it is never the whole picture (Saroca 2002:161). Rather, love and economics are often intertwined (Constable 2003; Saroca 2002).

In Saroca's previous study, she found that the main form of marriages of Filipino women in Australia started from initial introductions through networks of families and friends, followed by letter writing, telephone calls, emails and so on. Most Filipino-Australian couples today do not meet through introduction agencies. Informal networks established by Filipino women who had previously migrated to Australia provide the major means by which Australian men meet female partners from the Philippines. These networks allow the personal introduction of Australian men to female family members and friends in the Philippines (Saroca 2002:58).¹ Our intercultural relationships and families research indicates that family and friends continue to be a major means of introduction.

Footnotes

1. Saroca, C., 2002. Hearing the Voices of Filipino Women: Violence, Media Representation and Contested Realities, PhD Thesis, University of Newcastle