Human Rights Watch July 2004 Vol. 16, No. 9 (B) Help Wanted: Abuses against Female Migrant Domestic Workers in Indonesia and Malaysia Map 1: Map of Southeast Asia...................................................................................................1 Map 2: Migration Flows between Indonesia and Malaysia.................................................... 2 I. Summary.................................................................................................................................... 3 Key Recommendations............................................................................................................7 II. Background............................................................................................................................... 8 Labor Migration in Asia........................................................................................................... 8 Indonesian Migrant Workers in Malaysia............................................................................10 Domestic Work.......................................................................................................................12 Trafficking................................................................................................................................14 Repression of Civil Society in Malaysia: The Irene Fernandez Case ..............................16 The Status of Women and Girls in Indonesia....................................................................17 The Status of Women and Girls in Malaysia ......................................................................19 III. Pre-Departure Abuses in Indonesia ..................................................................................20 Licensing of Labor Recruiters and Suppliers......................................................................21 Pre-Departure Process and Transit......................................................................................22 Corruption, Extortion, and Other Illegal Practices.......................................................25 Lack of Information, Deception......................................................................................27 Alteration of Travel Documents......................................................................................29 Discrimination in Hiring Practices...................................................................................30 Abuses in Training Centers ...................................................................................................30 Forced Confinement..........................................................................................................32 Inadequate Living Conditions, Food, and Water ..........................................................33 Psychological, Physical, and Sexual Abuse .....................................................................34 Exploitative Labor Practices.............................................................................................35 IV. Workplace Abuses in Malaysia...........................................................................................36 Hours of Work, Rest Days, and Workload.........................................................................38 Forced Confinement and Restricted Communication......................................................40 Unpaid Wages..........................................................................................................................42 Restrictions on Religious Freedom ......................................................................................44 Physical Abuse, Neglect, and Mistreatment........................................................................45 Sexual Abuse and Harassment..............................................................................................48 Trafficking into Forced Labor ..............................................................................................50 V. Protection Failures and Obstacles to Redress..................................................................52 Bilateral Labor Agreements...................................................................................................53 Response of the Indonesian Government..........................................................................54 Policies on Overseas Migrant Workers ...........................................................................55 Recruitment, Training, and Sending Practices ...............................................................57 Inadequate Victim Services...............................................................................................58 Treatment of Migrant Workers upon Return to Indonesia .........................................59 Response of the Malaysian Government ............................................................................60 Absence of Mechanisms for the Protection of Indonesian Domestic Workers.......60 Abuses by Labor Agents in Malaysia...............................................................................62 Obstacles to Filing Complaints and Prosecuting Offenders .......................................65 Enforcement of the Immigration Act .............................................................................67 Conditions in Temporary Detention Centers ................................................................70 Response of Civil Society ......................................................................................................71 VI. National and International Legal Standards.....................................................................72 The Right to Just and Favorable Conditions of Work......................................................73 Freedom from Discrimination..............................................................................................75 Unjustifiable Disparate Impact: Domestic Workers’ Exclusion from Legal Protections...........................................................................................................................76 The Right to Health and the Right to Privacy....................................................................77 Forced Labor and Trafficking...............................................................................................79 Freedom of Movement and Freedom of Association.......................................................80 Freedom from Violence.........................................................................................................82 Freedom to Practice One’s Religion....................................................................................84 VII. Conclusion...........................................................................................................................85 VIII. Recommendations.............................................................................................................86 To the Governments of Indonesia and Malaysia...............................................................86 To the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)............................................90 To International Donors (United Nations, World Bank, European Union, United States, Japan)............................................................................................................................90 IX. Acknowledgments................................................................................................................90 Appendix A: Example of a Biodata for an Indonesian Migrant Domestic Worker…. 93 Appendix B: Standard Contract for Domestic Workers in Malaysia…………………. 94 Appendix C: Requirements for Hiring a Domestic Worker in Malaysia…………… 102 Appendix D: Standard Contract for Filipina Domestic Workers in Malaysia………. 105 Appendix E: Abuses Documented by Human Rights Watch………………………. 110 Map 1: Map of Southeast Asia 1 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH VOL. 16, NO. 9(C) Map 2: Migration Flows between Indonesia and Malaysia (Arrows show migration flows from Indonesia to transit points into Malaysia, which is shaded.) HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH VOL. 16, NO. 9(C) 2 I. Summary The agent came to my house and promised me a job in a house in Malaysia… He promised to send me to Malaysia in one month, but [kept me locked in] the labor recruiter’s office for six months…. I think one or two hundred people were there. The gate was locked. I wanted to go back home. There were two or four guards, they carried big sticks. They would just yell. They would sexually harass the women. —Interview with Fatma Haryono, age thirty, returned domestic worker, Lombok, Indonesia, January 24, 2004 I worked for five people, the children were grown up. I cleaned the house, the kitchen, washed the floor, ironed, vacuumed, and cleaned the car. I worked from 5:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. every day. I never had a break; I was just stealing time to get a break. I was paid just one time, 200 ringgit [U.S.$52.63]. I just ate bread, there was no rice [for me]. I was hungry. I slept in the kitchen on a mat. I was not allowed outside of the house. ─Interview with Nyatun Wulandari, age twenty-three, returned domestic worker, Lombok, Indonesia, January 25, 2004 In May 2004, graphic photographs of the bruised and burned body of Nirmala Bonat, a young Indonesian domestic worker in Malaysia, were splashed across newspapers in Southeast Asia. In a case that drew international attention and outrage as well as a prompt response by both the Malaysian and Indonesian