Challenges for Anti-Trafficking NGOs in Indonesia
Rights, Social-Economic Context, and Navigating Obstacles
Abstract
NGOs play a crucial role in safeguarding human dignity, especially in developing countries like Indonesia, where they strategically work to address pressing human rights issues. However, NGOs encounter various challenges that impede their efforts. This research specifically focuses on the challenges faced by NGOs working in human trafficking and exploitation in Indonesia. The analysis is based on data obtained from interviews conducted with four NGOs and an independent worker specializing in the exploitation and trafficking of underage individuals. Moreover, this study delves into the socio-economic problems underlying human trafficking in Indonesia. Drawing inspiration from Marxist theories of labor and poverty, it posits that the issue of human trafficking in Indonesia is closely intertwined with socio-economic instability—particularly affecting the most impoverished segment of the population. The research identifies poverty as a key factor fueling exploitation and trafficking in Indonesia. Furthermore, the study reveals implementation challenges and a lack of alignment with international conventions, such as the Palermo Protocols, in enforcing Indonesia's national law against human trafficking (Law No. 21/2007). These issues are particularly apparent in cases involving underage victims.
Keywords: exploitation, human trafficking, NGO, Indonesia
References
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Amalia, Syifa, Robby Syahputra & Alfatih Jagad, “Analysis of the Crime of Human Trafficking in Indonesia (Case Study: Human Trafficking with Marriage Mode in West Kalimantan)” (2021) 5:2 Unram Law Rev.
Amorim, Henrique, “Theories of immaterial labour: a critical reflection based on Marx” (2014) 8:1 Work Organ Labour Glob 88–103.
Ariadne, Evie, Benazir Pratamawaty & Putri Limilia, “Human Trafficking in Indonesia, the Dialectic of Poverty and Corruption” (2021) 23:3 Sosiohumaniora 356.
Banerjee, Abhijit V & Esther Duflo, Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty (PublicAffairs, 2012).
Bradshaw, Ted K, “Theories of Poverty and Anti-Poverty Programs in Community Development” (2007) 38:1 Community Dev 7–25.
Cohen, G A, “The Labor Theory of Value and the Concept of Exploitation” in Marshall Cohen, ed, Marx Justice Hist (Princeton University Press, 1980) 135.
Cullen-DuPont, Kathryn, Human Trafficking (Global Issue, 2009).
D’Amato, Anthony, “Softness in International Law: A Self-Serving Quest for New Legal Materials: A Reply to Jean d’Aspremont” (2009) 20:3 Eur J Int Law 897–910.
Davy, Deanna, “Regional Overview: Sexual Exploitation of Children in Southeast Asia” (2017) ECPAT Int.
Department of State US, 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report, by Department of State US (2022).
Draper, Hal, Karl Marx’s Theory of Revolution: State and bureaucracy. 2 v (Monthly Review Press, 1977).
Elster, Jon, “Marxism, functionalism and game theory: The Case for Methodological Individualism” (1982) 11:3 Theory Soc 453–482.
Elster, Jon, Making Sense of Marx (Cambridge University Press, 1985).
Friedman, Lawrence M, American Law (London, 1984).
Gallagher, Anne T, The International Law of Human Trafficking (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010).
Goldsmith, William W & Edward J Blakely, “Separate Societies: Poverty and Inequality in U.S. Cities” (1993) 22:3 Contemp Sociol 82–83.
Hamja, Hamja, Kodir Maulana & Asep Susanto, “Negative Implications of Criminal Action for Female Child Trafficking Victims in Indonesia” (2023) 2:1 Yuris J Court Justice 1–16.
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Hill, Hal, “What’s Happened to Poverty and Inequality in Indonesia over Half a Century?” (2021) 38:1 Asian Dev Rev 68–97.
Hodgson, Geoff, “A Theory of Exploitation Without the Labor Theory of Value” (1980) 44:3 Sci Soc 257–273.
Hugo, Graeme, “Women’s International Labour Migration” in Kathryn Robinson & Sharon Bessell, eds, Women Indones Gend Equity Dev (Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 2002) 158.
Iannone, Aniello, “Unveiling the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic (2019-2021) on Inequality, Poverty, and Food Security in Indonesia” (2023) 14:2 Polit J Ilmu Polit 189–208.
Ilmma, Amri & Matthew Wai-Poi, “Patterns of regional poverty in the new Indonesia” in Hal Hill, ed, Reg Dyn Decentralized Indones (Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 2014) 98.
ILO & IOM, Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage, by ILO & IOM (Geneva: International Labour Organization, 2022).
ILO, Global Action Programme on Migrant Domestic Workers and their Families, by ILO (International Labour Organization, 2016).
Inoue, Kosuke, “Child marriages in Asia rise as COVID drives more into poverty” Nikkei Asia (2022).
IOM et al, Human Trafficking, Forced Labour and Fisheries Crime in the Indonesian Fishing Industry, by IOM et al (Jakarta, Indonesia: International Organization for Migration (IOM), 2016).
IOM, The Climate Change-Human Trafficking Nexus (International Organization for Migration (IOM), 2016).
Jefferson, Philip N, Poverty: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2018).
Jessop, Bob, The Capitalist State, first edition ed (New York,: New York University Press, 1982).
Kranrattanasuit, Naparat, ASEAN and Human Trafficking: Case Studies of Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam (Leiden: Brill Nijhoff, 2014).
Kushnick, L & J Jennings, A New Introduction to Poverty: The Role of Race, Power and Wealth (New York University Press, 1999).
Lawrence, Ken, “Marx on American Slavery” (1977) 1:1 Theor Rev.
Lebaron, Genevieve & Alison J Ayers, “The Rise of a ‘New Slavery’? Understanding African unfree labour through neoliberalism” (2013) 34:5 Third World Q 873–892.
LeBaron, Genevieve et al, Confronting Root Causes: Forced Labour in Global Supply Chains (openDemocracy and the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI), 2018).
Marx, Karl, The Poverty of Philosophy by M. Proudhon (1847).
Mcauliffe, Marie & Anna Triandafyllidou, Report Overview: Technological, Geopolitical and Environmental Transformations Shaping our Migration and Mobility Futures, by Marie Mcauliffe & Anna Triandafyllidou (International Organization for Migration (IOM), 2022).
Meckstroth, Ted W, “Marx and the Logic of Social Theory: The Capitalist State” (2000) 64:1 Sci Soc 55–86.
Miliband, Ralph, Class Power and State Power (Verso, 1983).
Murti, Krisna & Riswadi, Legal Protection for Children Based on Law Number 17 of 2016 (Salatiga: EAI, 2021).
Naibaho, Nathalina, “Human Trafficking in Indonesia: Law Enforcement Problems” (2011) 1:1 Indones Law Rev.
O’Connell Davidson, Julia, “Troubling freedom: Migration, debt, and modern slavery” (2013) 1:2 Migr Stud 176–195.
Pesterfield, Christopher, “Unfree Labour and the Capitalist State: An Open Marxist Analysis of the 2015 Modern Slavery Act” (2021) 45:4 Cap Cl 543–560.
Pramono, Galih & Waris Marsisno, “Availability of Infrastructure for Poverty Reduction in Indonesia: Spatial Panel Data Analysis” (2018) 64:2 Econ Finance Indones 157–180.
Puente Aba, Luz María, “Defining Child Trafficking for Labor Exploitation, Forced Child Labor, and Child Labor” in John Winterdyk & Jackie Jones, eds, Palgrave Int Handb Hum Traffick (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020) 339.
Renaldi, Adi, “Covid-19 has worsened child sex trafficking in Indonesia, including resort paradise Bali”, South China Morning Post (2022), online:
Resosudarmo, Budy et al, “Development in Papua after special autonomy” in Hal Hill, ed, Reg Dyn Decentralized Indones (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), 2014) 433.
Rodgers, J R, “Poverty Intensity in Australia” (2000) 33:3 Aust Econ Rev 235–244.
Roemer, John E, “Exploitation and Labour Theory of Value” (1986) 21:3 Econ Polit Wkly 138–140.
———, “Should Marxists be Interested in Exploitation?” (1985) 14:1 Philos Public Aff 30–65.
Rosenberg, Ruth et al, Trafficking of Women and Children in Indonesia (International Catholic Migration Commission, 2003).
Ruggiero, Vincenzo, “Trafficking in Human Beings: Slaves in Contemporary Europe” (1997) 25:3 Int J Sociol Law 231–244.
Schiller, Bradley R, The Economics of Poverty and Discrimination (Prentice-Hall, 1989).
Sen, Amartya, Development as Freedom (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999).
Smith, Cindy J & Kristina Kangaspunta, “Dening Human Trafficking and Its Nuances in a Cultural Context” in John Winterdyk, Benjamin Perrin & Philip Reichel, eds, Hum Traffick Explor Int Nat Concerns Complexities (New York: Routledge, 2012).
Solidaritas Perempuan, Catatan Akhir Tahun Advokasi Kasus . Menguak Realitas dan Perjuangan Perempuan di tengah Politik Patriarki dan Krisis Multidimensional (Solidaritas Perempuan, 2020).
Sutinah & Karen Mwende Kinuthia, “Trafficking of women and children in East Java, Indonesia” (2019) 20:9 J Int Womens Stud 94–106.
UNICEF, The State of Children in Indonesia – Trends, Opportunities and Challenges for Realizing Children’s Rights, by UNICEF (UNICEF, 2020).
UNODC, Anti-human trafficking manual for criminal justice practitioners: Module 1, by UNODC (2009).
———, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2020, by UNODC (New York: United Nations, 2020).
Walk Free, “Modern Slavery in the Asia and the Pasific”, (2023), online:
Warren, Paul, “In Defense of the Marxian Theory of Exploitation: Thoughts on Roemer, Cohen, and Others” (2015) 41:2 Soc Theory Pract 286–308.
Wijers, Marjan & Lin Chew, Trafficking in Women: Forced Labour and Slavery-Like Practices in Marriage, Domestic Labour and Pristitution (STV/GAATW, 1999).
Wijers, Marjan, “How we got here: the story of the Palermo protocol on trafficking”, (2021), online: openDemocracy
Yuliartini, Ni Putu Rai et al, “Legal Protection for Women and Children as Victims of Human Trafficking in Indonesia” (2022) 13:1 J Huk Nov 26–37.
Yuniarto, Paulus Rudolf, “Indonesia Migration Industry in Taiwan : Some Socio-Economic Implications and Improvement Challenges” (2016) 6:1 J Kaji Wil 17–33.
Zinser, Sophie & Hannah Thinyane, “A Step Forward for Palermo’s Trafficking Protocol, This Time Integrating Frontier Technology” (2021) 16:1 Yale J Int Aff.
Published
2024-06-29
How to Cite
IANNONE, Aniello; KINASIH, Sri Endah; WAHYUDI, Irfan.
Challenges for Anti-Trafficking NGOs in Indonesia.
Journal of Southeast Asian Human Rights, [S.l.], v. 8, n. 1, p. 1-36, june 2024.
ISSN 2599-2147.
Available at: <https://jurnal.unej.ac.id/index.php/JSEAHR/article/view/41379>. Date accessed: 19 dec. 2024.
doi: https://doi.org/10.19184/jseahr.v8i1.41379.
Section
Articles
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
