BRIDGING LOCAL AND NATIONAL GOVERNANCE: GENDER-RESPONSIVE REGULATORY INTEGRATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF INDONESIAN MIGRANT WORKERS

Abstract

Women migrant workers face significant vulnerabilities due to gender inequality and discrimination which are often exacerbated by weak or inconsistent regulations in both sending and receiving countries. This study aims to analyze the urgency of empowerment and the fulfillment of rights for Indonesian women migrant workers at the village level, as well as to explore gender mainstreaming strategies in harmonizing local and national regulations for comprehensive protection. Employing a socio-legal method with sociocultural and intersectional approaches, the research adopts a prescriptive-analytical design. The findings reveal that women migrant workers frequently experience rights violations perpetrated by both state and non-state actors, including employers, recruitment agencies, and private intermediaries. Existing regulatory frameworks often lack gender responsiveness and continue to reproduce gender bias, while the implementation of local regulations, particularly at the village level, remains incomplete and poorly integrated with national frameworks. The study highlights the need for gender mainstreaming in regulatory design, from village-level bylaws to national legislation, to establish gender-responsive protection mechanisms that can effectively reduce discrimination and safeguard the rights of Indonesian women migrant workers.