Indonesia Boosts Women Migrant Workers’ Voices Through Cross-Border Digital Training

Simrin Singh, ILO Country Director for Indonesia and Timor-Leste, praised the initiative for empowering migrant women to speak out and shape policies.

Indonesia is amplifying the voices and leadership of women migrant workers through a series of cross-border digital capacity-building programmes and dialogue sessions aimed at advancing safe migration, fair recruitment, and workplaces free from violence and harassment. The initiative is jointly organized by the ILO, UN Women, and Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (KP2MI/BP2MI).

The activities, held under the theme “Strengthening Voices and Cross-Border Solidarity in the Digital Space to Achieve Fair Recruitment and Decent Work Free from Violence Against Women Migrant Workers,” also mark the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence and International Migrants Day 2025.

Elevating Women’s Digital Voices for Safer, Fairer Migration

Simrin Singh, ILO Country Director for Indonesia and Timor-Leste, praised the initiative for empowering migrant women to speak out and shape policies.

“Applying a gender lens to digital content is a powerful way to ensure that women’s voices, experiences and perspectives are equitably represented and amplified,” she said.

The ILO’s support is provided through its PROTECT project, which combats exploitation by preventing violence, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, and labour rights violations.

Supporting Women Migrant Worker Vloggers as Digital Educators

A core part of the programme is a series of online trainings that equip participants with skills to create ethical, gender-responsive, and evidence-based digital educational content. This includes materials that help prevent online migration-related fraud, violence, and harassment.

Notably:

• Five women migrant worker vloggers based in destination countries are producing digital educational content.

• They lead cross-border dialogues with government officials, former migrant workers, and local communities.

• Their content focuses on safe migration, fair recruitment, migrant labour rights, and cybersecurity.

These vloggers, organizers and union leaders challenge stereotypes, strengthen solidarity, and advance migrant women’s leadership across Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Empowering Women Through Collective Voice and Union Leadership

ILO representatives highlighted that enabling women migrant workers—including those in the informal economy—to organize, bargain collectively, and join trade unions is one of the most effective ways to prevent exploitation.

Where unions are strong, evidence shows lower rates of child labour, trafficking and forced labour, making collective organization a cornerstone of decent work.

Migrant Worker Resource Centres (MRCs): Key Local Anchors

Activities are being implemented through Migrant Worker Resource Centres (MRCs) in five districts:

• Cirebon (West Java)

• Lampung Timur (Lampung)

• Tulungagung (East Java)

• Kupang (East Nusa Tenggara)

• Deli Serdang (North Sumatra)

MRCs provide vital pre-departure, in-transit and reintegration assistance, offering:

• information and counselling

• protection services

• safe migration guidance

• support in reporting abuses

• community-level awareness activities

Sinthia Harkrisnowo, Coordinator of the ILO’s PROTECT Project, noted that MRCs are crucial in “preventing exploitative recruitment practices, supporting safe migration pathways, and strengthening local-level protection systems.”

Comprehensive Programme Activities

The initiative includes a wide range of coordinated activities:

1. Digital Content Development & Safe App Use Training (13–14 Dec 2025)

Equipped 30 migrant worker trade unionists (80% women) from Indonesia and destination countries with skills in digital content creation, secure communication tools, and preventing online fraud or harassment.

2. Cross-Border Workshop (15 Dec 2025)

Participants co-created ethical, gender-responsive, evidence-based content promoting:

• fair recruitment

• migrant rights

• cybersecurity

• safe and decent work

• prevention of harmful stereotypes

3. Group Mentoring (16–17 Dec 2025)

Hands-on mentoring helped participants refine content and prepare for dialogues with policymakers and migrant communities.

4. Local Awareness Activities & Cross-Border Dialogues (18 Dec 2025 – 7 Jan 2026)

Hybrid events engaged more than 150 government representatives, community leaders, and former migrant workers, strengthening shared understanding of safe migration and fair recruitment.

Building Cross-Border Solidarity for Safer Migration

This coordinated effort reflects Indonesia’s strong commitment to rights-based, gender-responsive labour migration governance. By empowering women migrant workers as content creators, organizers and leaders, the initiative aims to:

• combat violence and harassment

• prevent online fraud

• promote safe, fair migration pathways

• strengthen digital literacy and collective action

• build solidarity across borders

Ultimately, the programme contributes to a future where women migrant workers are not only protected, but also recognized as leaders and changemakers in shaping migration systems.