TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Majority of Indonesian women migrant workers abroad are victims of human trafficking. International Organization for Migration (IOM) coordinator Nurul Qoiriah said 76 percent of women and children working abroad is trapped in human trafficking.
According to Nurul, these workers have no idea to have been subjects of trafficking. They usually apply for overseas employments through a panderer helping them take care of immigration administration and documents. "Majority of their documents are falsified," Nurul said in a discussion about Human Trafficking held by the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) at People’s Consultative Assembly building yesterday.
According to IOM’s observation, human trafficking case in Indonesia increases every year. Since March 2005 to December 2011, IOM has handled 4,067 cases of trafficking. Most of the cases (87.94 percent) happen to women and in Malaysia. "This is only the data that we handle, exclusive of other agencies."
Trafficking cases increase drastically this year. From January to July 2013, IOM has received more than 1,045 cases. Eighty-five percent happenned to women. Men victims are employed as palm oil labors and sailors.
Nurul said most of the women victims are forced to work and exploited sexually. They work as housemaid without payment, suffer sexual harassment and are employed not according to the agreement. "Unfortunately, Indonesian government has not taken this human trafficking practice seriously."
IRA GUSLINA SUFA