Trauma, Extreme Humiliation, and Coping Strategies in Migrant Domestic Workers' Storytelling: Linguistic and Psychological Perspectives.

This article examines the experience of trauma among Indonesian migrant domestic workers (MDWs) through their storytelling in small-group sharing sessions, drawing on narratives from 131 women. Using a discourse analytical approach combined with narrative therapy, it identifies three main coping strategies: resignation to fate amid insurmountable difficulties, normalization of abusive employers' behavior, and the therapeutic retelling of trauma to empathetic listeners as a path to recovery. The study highlights the pervasive abuse and exploitation faced by MDWs, the long-lasting emotional impact of trauma even years after return, and the critical role of language both as a tool of trauma and healing. It also discusses the ethical responsibilities of listeners and analysts in engaging with trauma narratives and advocates for language and social psychology scholars to contribute to social justice efforts by amplifying marginalized voices.