Mensen Met Een Missie collaborated with the Zero Human Trafficking Network and the Migrant Care in holding a Harmful, Norms, Power and Conviction Workshop that affected to the gender-based violence and human trafficking on October 17 to 21, 2022 at Kristal Hotel in Kupang. The workshop invited local leaders of 22 cities or regencies in Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT). The workshop aims to discuss about the result of the research, priorities, norms, powers and beliefs in NTT, and to increase the capacity of local leaders by the gender transformation approach to eliminate harmful norms, powers and beliefs that contribute to the gender-based violence and human trafficking. Therefore, the workshop also arranged protest or an action to prevent the gender-based violence and eradicating the criminal act of human trafficking.
In the opening ceremony of the workshop, the coordinator of the Zero Human Trafficking Network (ZHTN) father Agus Duka, SVD hoped the workshop could be handled well and the participants could be actively involved to the discussion. The main point of the workshop is to organize, to reduce, and to eliminate the existing of norms, finding the norms that contribute to the violence that happen to women and to the criminal act of human trafficking.
On the second day, father Agus Duka explained about the result of the research about the harmful beliefs and powers in NTT.
There are 13 conventions that were described in the event. Those are paying belis (dowry) as a traditional custom that the men should pay when they get married, the payment of betel nut as a good customary practice, the decision-maker is only a husband, women’s incomes and assets belong to men, the house works are done by wives not husbands (because it’s taboo), doing domestic works (house works) and taking care of children and working abroad are underestimated, girls and women must be blamed when they experience violence, the women’s obligation is to fulfill the men’s sexual desire, men must be strong and brave, brothers are more respected by their sisters and the sisters must help their brothers, relatives can be trusted for every tings (including as workers recruiters), divorce is not an option that can be considered when the wives get domestic violence such as human trafficking and other violence because those are not church leader’s priority.
“These beliefs relate to the harmful power of the social constructions” Father Agus Duka stated.
Emiritus Emmy Sahertian as the responder stated that custom, religion, and state are the basic needs for dealing the gender-based violence and the criminal act of human trafficking.
There are 6 dangerous beliefs that often occur in Nusa Tenggara Timur concluded by the participants (result). Those beliefs are paying the belis as a customary practice, husbands as the only decision maker, the house works are done by women and it’s taboo for men, girls and women must be blamed when they get or become victims of violence, relatives must be trusted, the church leaders’ priority.
On the third day, the participants learned and discussed about the ecological framework of human trafficking and sexual violence. There are several systems of the ecological framework such as macro system that relate to the culture, exo system that the experiences come from social environment including economic issue, micro system that relate to the environment and life or personal history. Furthermore, the participants also discussed about reflection of the strategy that is used to prevent human trafficking and harmful norms and beliefs. The discussion aimed to reflect about the previous practices in responding to the criminal act of human trafficking and gender-based violence from the six beliefs above.
The workshop participants also got the topic about Intersectional and Power Relations. In order to understand the topic, Mrs. Tory Atta as the facilitator explained that the intersectionality is about social identity such as gender, race, ethnicity, social class, culture, sexual orientation and gender identity. The more identity the more discrimination would people have. Intersectionality formed an opression system, domination, and discrimination. The power relation would be inequality that can cause injustice such as being gender-based violence victim.
“The gender-based violence victims are very vulnerable to become the victims of the criminal act of human trafficking by getting several modes and abuse their authority, power, and culture. The human trafficking is considered as the global business like arms and drugs. Human Trafficking is complicated issue for international and local level. One certain thing is that human trafficking occur in many countries. In conclusion, intersectionality is caused by inequality power of people, gender-based violence, and the criminal act of human trafficking” Mrs. Tory Atta explained
To achieve the gender equality, the approach that can be used for the society is the gender transformation based on human right. The facilitator explained that the gender transformation approach change the rigid gender norms and unequal power in society.
“We speak and talk about gender equality so far because there is injustice. Women’s participation has begun to open their mind but it is still very small. The point is that a socio-cultural change to make the society be more equal and fair.” Mrs. Tory ended.
There were testimonies from three men on the last day of the workshop. Those men told about their experiences in trying to change harmful habits that based on gender such as getting involved in household meters and in doing vaccination and immunization for children or we call it posyandu. Having men as the participants to the workshop is considered to be effective to minimize gender-based violence or other violence that occur to women and girls.
Furthermore, the participants invited to do a Role Play raising the issue of gender-based violence and the criminal act of human trafficking that occur in NTT. There were two methods of the Role Play, drama and talk show. First, the participants were divided into four groups. Each group divided again into two groups so that they can do the drama and talk show. They conducted interactive dialogue by raising the Mariance Kabu’s case, the victim of the criminal act of human trafficking with various modes as well as the case of sexual abuse. The Role Play was performed very well by each group. They also visualized the dangerous beliefs such as the betel nut used to recruit potential migrant workers non-procedural.
“by the Role Play, we can see the vulnerable position of the NTT people who become the victims of human trafficking.” Cak Mul, the coordinator of the ZHTN Lobby and Advocacy Task Force stated. On the other hand, he emphasized not to forget the government because the government has main mandate to protect the migrant workers.
The last session of the workshop was a following-up planning that would be carried by the participants or organizations in their regencies or cities to change the harmful norms, powers, and beliefs that affect to the gender-based violence and the criminal act of human trafficking. In making following-up planning, several participants stated that it would be needed to held the following discussion for the gender-based and the criminal act of human trafficking issues, making camping on social media, holding weekly or monthly online meeting. The final conclusion was to strengthen the network for anti-the criminal act of human trafficking and gender-based violence.
In the end of the workshop, Cak Mul gave rewards to the participants who were active during the discussion and got involved in problem formulation on norms, powers and beliefs that considered dangerous.
Pastor Dhebby Soru is the one of workshop participants said that he was interested in participating to the workshop because there are many congregations working abroad for economic reasons. According to him, the workshop was very exciting because all the participants were actively involved with good achievements and become strengthener capacity building each other. From the workshop, the participants that become networks will be stronger and more successful in preventing and handling the issues of gender-based violence and the criminal act of human trafficking.
Oby Tani, the representing of Ende Catholic Youth appreciated the workshop because the workshop was able to open their mind to understand and be aware about gender-based and the criminal act of human trafficking. He also wants to expand his network to make his activities easier in the future.
“Hopefully, the participants can implement what they got from the workshop and discussion. They are also hoped to be able to spread the result of discussion to their societies and communities. The same event hopefully are able to carried out in every cities in Indonesia so that the societies and communities can be well advocated and the issue of the gender-based violence and the criminal act of human trafficking will not happen anymore.” He closed. (*)
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