Practical Solutions to Combat Trafficking

In many parts of Indonesia, enrollment fees and the cost of school uniforms are simply out of reach for the poorest families. As a result, parents are often faced with the heartbreaking decision to pull their children out of school. For girls from extremely impoverished backgrounds, this can lead to life on the streets—begging, being exploited through prostitution, or being forced into underage marriage to the highest bidder. With parents often working long hours in fields or factories, many of these girls are left alone for much of the day, making them especially vulnerable to abuse and neglect.

Human trafficking thrives on the abuse of power, the exploitation of vulnerability, and the pursuit of profit. In many small villages, women are often not seen as having the same worth or potential as men. Their roles are largely limited to domestic duties, and they are frequently denied the same opportunities to pursue education or explore meaningful career paths. Instead of being valued for their abilities and aspirations, women are often judged on their capacity to fulfill others’ needs. In the most impoverished communities, this devaluation can become extreme—some families, out of desperation, even resort to selling their daughters to survive.

In a country where many people live on just a few dollars a day and where good job opportunities are hard to come by, education is absolutely vital. Even the most basic, entry-level jobs require a high school diploma. Now imagine not only lacking that diploma, but also having little to no awareness of possible job opportunities beyond what you’ve seen in your family or village. This lack of education and exposure often leads girls into deeply codependent situations, leaving them particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.