Hera Diani, Jakarta – Many have been raped, abused and neglected. But there is another factor that is rarely raised in discussions about the chronic struggles of Indonesian migrant workers: their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.
There are no official statistics available on the number of HIV/AIDS cases among migrant laborers, but data from the Association of Medical Clinics for Migrant Workers (HIPKTEK) released at a seminar Monday showed 0.09 percent of potential migrants who applied for jobs in the Middle East tested positive for HIV/AIDS.
There has been an increase in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS among workers planning to travel to the Middle East.
The showed there were 131 cases of HIV/AIDS among potential migrant workers who underwent testing while applying to work in the Middle East from January through October 2005. This was an increase from 2004, when 203 potential migrant workers out of 233,626 seeking work in the Middle East tested positive.
Many were women, reflecting the fact that more than 80 percent of Indonesian migrant workers are female.
Thaufiek Zulbahary of Women's Solidarity for Human Rights (Solidaritas Perempuan), who presented the data, said workers in other countries were believed to be as vulnerable. "But the government does not see the workers as a high-risk group," he told the seminar.
The factors contributing to workers' vulnerability, Thaufiek said, include lack of information, low rates of condom use, poor health-seeking behavior, and lack of access to health services.
"There is a pre-departure orientation seminar and pre-departure training held for the migrant workers, but it is not sufficient. From our observation, only 45 minutes is allocated to health issues, with only 15 minutes devoted to HIV/AIDS," Thaufiek said.
The training materials even contained some incorrect information, he added, such as statements that HIV can be transmitted through saliva or by wearing the clothes of people who have HIV/AIDS – neither of which is a mode of transmission.
The migration process itself can expose workers to HIV/AIDS, Thaufiek said, because of sexual abuse perpetrated by brokers. During medical checks, women who want to become migrant workers have to strip down to their underwear, making them vulnerable to assault. They have little information on how HIV is spread, and they lack the confidence to ask for safeguards such as sterile needles.
Potential migrant workers' privacy and confidentiality are not respected, according to HIPKTEK. The potential workers do not receive health certificates. There is mandatory HIV testing, but no counseling or information is offered. None of the potential migrants interviewed knew they were being tested for HIV.
Once they are placed in jobs, female migrant workers are still vulnerable to sexual assault. Their quality of health care, if any, is poor.
Solidaritas Perempuan urged the government to ensure migrant workers' access to accurate health information and affordable, good-quality health care.
"Migrant workers must be directly involved in the discussion, development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of laws, policies and programs aiming to protect and promote migrant worker's access to health information and services," Thaufiek said.