Coping with stigma and social exclusion of terror-convicts’ wives in Indonesia: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Abstract

This research aims to: (1) understand the various forms of stigma and social exclusion toward the wives of those convicted of terrorism, (2) understand the psychological impact of stigma and social exclusion toward the wives, (3) understand the coping mechanism of the wives toward stigma and social exclusion. The all Muslim participants were 24 wives of terror convicts or former convicts who lived in East Java, Central Java, and West Java. The data were collected through interviews and Focus Group Discussion (FGD), whereas interpretative psychological analysis were used to explore the participants’ experience. Results of the study show that participants were stigmatized as “terrorist,” and “ISIS.” As a result, they received verbal abuse both directly and indirectly as well as threats of physical violence. The psychological impact felt by participants were a deep sense of shame and trauma. Three participants often still regret the situation although their husbands’ arrest happened 3 to 12 years ago. The way participants deal with the stigma is through ignorance, hiding the real condition, and resettling at a different place.