The protection and empowerment of Indonesian female migrant domestic workers: Proposals from a multi-stage analysis

ABSTRACT

Migrant female domestic workers are subject to an overarching system of isolation, subordination, and exploitation due to the intersection of their gender, low education, and foreign-migrant status. This is a study of Indonesian female migrant domestic workers and their actual experiences in the six distinct stages of their journey that have not been previously acknowledged. This enabled us to uncover the distinct exploitation and abuse problems they encountered at different stages and propose how these problems may be addressed, apart from formulating proposals for fundamental reform. We conclude by identifying ways in which the problems can be mitigated, or even fully addressed in some cases, through more active intervention by their home country.

ABSTRACT IN BAHASA INDONESIA

Pekerja rumah tangga perempuan migran bergelut pada sistem isolasi, subordinasi, dan eksploitasi menyeluruh karena status atau keadaan yang sangat terkait terkait gender, pendidikan rendah, dan pekerjaan sebagai buruh migran. Studi ini tentang beberapa hal, yaitu pekerja rumah tangga migran perempuan Indonesia dan pengalaman nyata mereka dalam enam tahapan dari pekerjaan buruh migran yang berbeda dari studi tentang pekerja migrasi yang ada sebelumnya. Ini memungkinkan kami untuk mengungkap masalah eksploitasi dan pelecehan yang berbeda yang dihadapi para pekerja tersebut yang terjadi pada tahapan-tahapan pengalaman kerja mereka tersebut, serta hal-hal ini dapat digunakan untuk mengembangkan proposal bagi penyelesaian masalah yang mereka hadapi dan merumuskan upaya reformasi yang mendasar. Kami menyimpulkan dengan mengidentifikasi cara-cara di mana masalah dapat dikurangi atau bahkan sepenuhnya ditangani terkait beberapa kasus melalui intervensi yang lebih aktif di negara asal mereka.

KEYWORDS:

• Migrant domestic worker
• Indonesian women
• protection of women
• empowerment of women
• human capabilities theory
• intersectionality theory

KEYWORDS:

• Pekerja buruh migran
• perempuan Indonesia
• perlindungan perempuan
• pemberdayaan perempuan
• teori kemampuan manusia
• teori interseksionalitas

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rosita Tandos

Rosita TANDOS is a lecturer in the State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, Indonesia. She has a PhD from the State University of New York at Albany and three master’s degrees from universities in Indonesia, Canada (jointly with an Indonesian university), and Australia. She is the head of a development association and director of a key foundation office in Indonesia as well as head of a university center for women and children and was previously a member of an expert team advising the Minister of Social Affairs. Email: [email protected]

Runping Zhu

Runping ZHU (corresponding author) is an associate professor at Lanzhou University in China where she teaches courses on social survey methodology and advanced knowledge in the field. Her research papers have been published in a range of international journals and presented at a number of international conferences. She holds a doctorate from the University of Western Australia and a master’s degree from Nanyang Technological University Singapore. Prior to her current appointment, she was a research associate at Australian universities and an associate professor at the Dongbei University of Finance and Economics. Email: [email protected]

Richard Krever

Richard KREVER is a professor at the University of Western Australia and an International Fellow in the Centre for Business Taxation at Oxford University. His previous appointments include positions and visiting positions at Monash University, Harvard University, Cambridge University, Erasmus University, and York University. He has been appointed to a number of government advisory committees in Australia and has provided assistance to development programs under the auspices of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Asian Development Bank Institute and German, Swedish, Australian, US and Canadian government aid agencies. Email: [email protected]