Help for women affected by violence in Asia

Background information

Women are particularly vulnerable in a generally patriarchal context, as in many Asian countries, as they are also subordinate to their husbands under civil law. The husband is considered the head of the family with far-reaching powers of control and domination. Indonesian and Malaysian law makes the spouse who leaves the parental home first guilty and thus discriminates against women who move away with their children because they have experienced domestic violence. Traditional cultural norms, characterized by poverty, still lead to the marriage of underage girls in Indonesia and Malaysia, which can be seen as a structural form of violence. In Indonesia, around 1.4 million women are under the age of 18 when they get married each year, with marriages often being arranged by the heads of the family and the will of the young women concerned not being respected.

In order to improve their economic situation, many Indonesians seek employment abroad, for example in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore or the Middle East. Others are even forced by their families to earn money as migrant workers. Quite a few fall victim to human trafficking. Over nine million Indonesians work abroad. 75 percent of them are women; very often they are employed as domestic workers and caregivers.

In the Hong Kong project region, around 380,000 foreign domestic workers mostly work under very poor conditions, with more than 40 percent of them coming from Indonesia. The lack of education worsens the situation of migrant workers in particular. Few are aware of their rights and can seek help or defend themselves in cases of abuse, sexual exploitation or unhealthy conditions in the workplace. Malaysia has become one of the most popular destination countries for unskilled migrant workers. A large number of them enter the country without papers. In the province of Sabah, where Mission 21 is active, there are 810,000 stateless people, which leads to complex problems. The Education Act of 1996 (Act 550) prohibits children of undocumented irregular immigrants from attending public schools. The denial of education prevents these children from achieving a better future. Church-run learning centers are trying to close this gap. Cooperation with Indonesian school authorities is necessary to ensure that the qualifications obtained are recognized when the children return to their parents' home country.

Project goals

• Prevention of sexualized and gender-based violence, including human trafficking, and its structural causes
• Strengthening the legal rights of women, youth and children, LGBTQI+, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups such as migrant workers and their children.
• Raising awareness among key players such as authorities, traditional and religious leaders, teachers, men and boys to promote gender equality
• Victims of sexual and gender-based violence receive legal and psychosocial support and are given access to shelters.
• Access to education for children of migrant workers.

Target groups

The primary target group are women who are victims of disenfranchisement, exploitation and violence in their own families or as migrant workers in foreign households or along the migration chain, or who are exposed to this risk. The children of irregular migrant workers in Sabah, Malaysia, are also part of the target group. Men are included in prevention work and campaigns, because gender justice can only be achieved if women and men work together towards it.

Activities

• Prevention activities, such as skills development for community leaders, educators and activists, and public awareness campaigns on: Gender norms and power relations; physical safety and protection; legal frameworks and access to justice; safe access to basic needs; economic, educational and social equity.
• Support activities for people affected by sexual and gender-based violence, focusing on: physical health; mental and psychosocial health; legal assistance and physical protection; socioeconomic empowerment; schooling for children of irregular migrants*.
• Annual regional platform on "Safe and Fair Migration" for mutual learning, networking with authorities and other actors, and planning joint actions and campaigns for better regional coordination and transnational accompaniment of victims.

Project progress

In the area of direct support for victims of sexualized and gender-based violence, including human trafficking, our partner organizations assisted a total of 240 (predominantly female) people in 2023. The support provided included psychological, medical, legal and economic support. The increase in the number of victims supported compared to previous years shows that awareness of gender-based violence is growing and more people are making use of support services.

Through reintegration and income-generating measures, some of those affected were able to continue their studies or start their own business. For offenders, the GKP newly offered rehabilitation courses at its women's shelter "Pasundan Durebang" in Bandung to promote long-term behavior change. The shelter "House of Hope" of the GMIT in Kupang supported the families of 129 migrant workers who died abroad, a sadly high number of deaths.

In its service area, GMIT established support and prevention teams for victims of sexualized violence and human trafficking in ten parishes. In West Java, the GMIT was able to work with the Muslim civil society organization Sapa Institute to establish contact with the Islamic Union of Indonesia, which includes fundamentalist groups. This enabled it to expand its education and awareness-raising activities on the issue of gender-based violence.

In the area of prevention, structural work was carried out to change gender roles and relationships in favor of less violent coexistence. 2,212 people (approximately one third men, two thirds women) took part in awareness-raising measures. Capacity building initiatives, including training, courses and workshops, were attended by 809 people, mostly women, who were trained as mediators and counselors in their communities. 1,027 people were reached directly through advocacy activities in the political and church landscape.

Today, several partner organizations implement a code of conduct for the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (PSEAH) and promote gender equality in leadership positions through measures - with success: three of the project's five partner churches are currently led by women, including the GKEwhich covers an enormous area (almost all of Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo). Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong have been Christian Action educated about gender equity and empowered to better exercise their rights.

The new law on the criminalization of sexual violence in Indonesia, which was passed in 2022, was achieved thanks in part to the tireless lobbying work of our partner organizations GKP, PERUATI and PGI and their intensive interfaith networking. In addition, a bill was introduced in West Java that provides for the creation of integrated services for women, children and migrant workers.

In Sabah, Malaysia, 746 children of illegalized Indonesian migrant workers, who are excluded from public schools due to their parents' lack of residency rights, attended classes at the five community learning centers of the BCCM. 18 girls and 20 boys completed their education at a Community Learning Center, which corresponds to the level of junior high school in Indonesia.