A Qualitative Account of the Role of Resilience in Women's Agency and Mental Health Coping Strategies within Blesser Relationships in Malawi

Background and Purpose: Blesser relationships, a form of transactional relationships has quickly spread across Sub-Saharan Africa. In these relationships young women, commonly referred to as "Slay Queens," engage in sexual relationships with older men known as Blessers in exchange for financial benefits and lavish gifts (Hoss & Blokland, 2018).The root causes of most transactional relationships in Africa can be attributed to poverty and the pursuit of basic survival needs, the high cost of living, societal materialistic expectations, and limited employment opportunities and have been major factors driving adolescents to engage in transactional sex and Blesser relationships (Palfreman, 2020). The study sought to fulfil the following objectives (1)Examine the role of resilience in shaping women’s agency within Blesser relationships, (2)Explore the coping strategies women employ to manage the mental health challenges associated with Blesser relationships.

The study brings in a global perspective to gender inequality and women’s plight. Gender is an internalized construct, and women's identities are intricately shaped by societal gender norms which hinders their autonomy and self-determination (Meyers, 2002). The study thus explored how women’s resilience plays a role in their agency amidst these dynamics in a unique cultural context and provides mental health coping strategies in lieu of mental health services.

Methods: The data collection drew both on in-depth semi structured interviews and a demographics survey. A thematic analysis and narrative analysis were then utilized. A total of 15 in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with young Malawian women aged 18 to 22. Participants were recruited through posters shared on social media platforms. Due to the sensitive nature of the topics related to Blesser relationships, participants declined audio recording, so interviews were transcribed verbatim in real time and later converted to word documents and uploaded into Dedoose software for analysis. The study prioritized the narratives and perspectives of the women, emphasizing their voices and lived experiences in shaping the research findings.

Results: The findings reveal that Women in general constitute a vulnerable population due to inequality and patriarchal beliefs, cultures and tendencies that are embedded in their everyday experiences. The women expressed how modernity pressure, peer pressure, maternal responsibility and self-competence are constant drives to involvement in Blesser relationships. Women constantly have anxiety over contracting HIV/AIDS while they also grapple with trauma, violence, mental health adversity and stigma. Yet still, the women showed so much resilience in navigating all these challenges through minimizing their problems, using religion as a source of hope and strength, critical awareness, emotional awareness and reclaiming their identity through financial independence and education.

Conclusions and Implications: These results highlight the plight of Malawian women who are constantly negotiating patriarchy, poverty and gender inequality. Women’s experiences in Blesser relationships attest to their resilience in that irrespective of all these challenges, women persevere and remain in the relationships mostly for the financial gain and parental responsibilities.Recognizing and promoting women's agency within such patriarchal contexts is a critical aspect of social service initiatives, with the overarching goal of dismantling gender-based oppression and combating mental health disparities.