BANDUNG, INDONESIA, 15-17 November 2016 – NEXUS’ Senior Researcher presented lessons learned in Indonesia on the identification and referral of victims of forced labor at the Multi-Agency Workshop on Trafficking in Persons for Forced Labour, held in Bandung, West Java. NEXUS shared findings from its longitudinal research in Indonesia, which found that large numbers of victims go unidentified and unassisted in the country. Key barriers include: institutional and structural barriers to identification and referral, lack of information about referrals and assistance among victims and duty-bearers and limited assistance options for some types of victims and in some areas. The NEXUS presentation is available for download here (and in Bahasa Indonesian).

This workshop, hosted by the Australia-Asia Program to Combat Trafficking in Persons (AAPTIP), identified good practices in the identification of victims, investigation, prosecution and adjudication of forced labor cases and promote the safe and effective involvement of victims as witnesses in the criminal justice process. Presentations and discussions centered around the following key issues:

• Understanding the laws in Indonesia relating to forced labor and TIP.
• Identifying challenges and good practices in the identification of victims in forced labor cases and sharing lessons learned from recent cases.
• Identifying challenges and good practices of investigating, interviewing victims and collecting evidence, and sharing lessons learned from recent cases.
• Identifying challenges and good practices of prosecuting and adjudicating forced labor cases and supporting of Victims as Witnesses and sharing lessons learned from recent cases.