Ensuring Decent Work and Reducing Vulnerabilities for Women and Children in the Context of Labour Migration in Southeast Asia

With 10.6 million migrants in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN)region (based on national statistics,which may not account for undocumented migrants) -nearly half of whom are women,1.3 million are children –migration offers considerable development opportunities to both countries of origin and destination,and to migrants themselves.For instance,the Asia and Pacific region has accounted for 40-45 percent of the world’s remittance inflows since 2010 and labour migration has served “as a multigenerational poverty reduction strategy”.Yet these opportunities can be adversely affected by risks of labour exploitation,decent work deficits,violence against women and girls (VAWG) and harassment (including violence and harassment in the world of work),trafficking in human beings and smuggling across the migration cycle,in particular for women,and women migrant workers in low wage occupations.Age,gender and migrant status can amplify these risks both in terms of their occurrence,and in terms of the harmful impact on survivors and their families.Women migrant workers tend to be mostly engaged in elementary occupations (such as agriculture,construction,domestic work),characterised by low-wages,informality,temporariness,decent work deficits, and insufficient social protection coverage;women migrants have limited access to essential services including those to support survivors of violence.Children accompanying migrant workers in destination countries face multiple challenges (especially if undocumented),including inadequate access to child protection and other social services,risks of sexual and physical abuse,exploitation and trafficking.Several ASEAN countries are ranked Tier 2 watchlist/Tier 3 in the United States Trafficking in Persons (US TIP) report mirroring regional challenges in addressing human trafficking. Cambodia has also detected increasing numbers of foreign victims within the country - including from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand – trafficked into growing entertainment industries and online scam centres.Ensuring Decent Work and Reducing Vulnerabilities for Women and Children in the Context of Labour Migration in Southeast Asia (called PROTECT in brief-the Protection of the Rights of Women and Children in Labour Migration) project promotes decent work, while reducing the vulnerabilities of women and children in the context of labour migration, through preventing and responding to violence against women and children, human trafficking and migrant smuggling.It does this through addressing legal,policy and institutional gaps and barriers faced by women migrant workers and children in the context of labour migration including the protection of fundamental principles and rights at work as well as enhancing their access to safe,orderly and regular migration by addressing violence,exploitation,forced labour and trafficking.To ensure that laws and policies can be effectively implemented,the project enhances national and regional capacities and mechanisms for policy implementation,service provision and prevention efforts while empowering concerned women migrant workers and children to mitigate the risks of abuse and exploitation and access services.The Overall objective of the project is to protect the rights of women migrant workers and migrant children in Southeast Asia.The Specific Objectives are to strengthen national legislation,policies and regional frameworks for the protection of women migrant workers,children and other vulnerable groups in line with international standards,to improve national and regional prevention and protection mechanisms to reduce rights’ violations against migrant women,children and other vulnerable groups including victims of trafficking and smuggled migrants,to increase the access of at-risk groups, women migrant workers and children to information,social and legal services,counselling,and association to prevent abuse,exploitation,harrassment,violence and trafficking in human beings.

Project symbol

RAS/23/06/EUR

Admin unit

RO-Asia and the Pacific

Start date

01/01/2024

End date

31/12/2026

Total allocation

4122823

Total expenditure

Status

Active

2494784

Development Partners

Delegation of the European Union to Thailand

Country/Countries

Malaysia
Indonesia
Cambodia
Thailand
Asia and the Pacific - regional

Outcomes

Outcome 6: Protection at work for all