ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the various concepts of resilience and explores how it appears in the lives of women working in the sex and informal entertainment industry. Resilience is understood as an individual’s ability to cope with challenging situations and overcoming them with grit and determination. However, for women working in the informal entertainment sector, their ability to deal with past traumas and withstand constant violence, abuse, and social stigma requires more than courage. For this reason, peer networks play a unique role in boosting their morale and strengthening their resolve. This happens through the creation of a community from which women derive a sense of belonging. Initiatives such as skills development and socio-psychological support infuse a further sense of self-confidence and help build hope for a better future. Based on the comprehensive analysis of the support that a peer network provides, this chapter proposes a new framework for understanding how women working in the informal entertainment sector collectively create a model of resilience. The model demonstrates that the support of a peer network serves as a protective lens, and through this lens women working in the informal entertainment sector reconstruct their relationship with the outer world. The resilience they exhibit is a product of their inner strength (assets) and outer support (resources provided by peer networks).
