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Indonesia remains a major country of origin for migrant workers. Women make up just over half of formal placements, with a significant proportion going to Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan, China as domestic and care workers.

Ensuring fair recruitment remains a challenge. Although Indonesia has rules prohibiting worker-paid recruitment fees and has been moving towards stronger implementation, women still encounter unscrupulous intermediaries, information asymmetry and recruitment fees and related costs that push them into debt.

Protection and justice responses are also playing catch-up with new patterns of exploitation. Scams and cyber-enabled trafficking across the region trap Indonesian migrants, while frontline actors need further support to embed survivor-centred approaches and cross-border casework. Sustained investment in victim identification, bilateral cooperation and safe complaint channels remains essential for women migrants to obtain remedy.

Supported with funding from the European Union, the PROTECT Project works across Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand to safeguard the rights of migrant women and children, with a focus on the migration of Indonesian women to Malaysia.