Reflections of Indonesia Survivor Care

At OUR Rescue, we are committed not only to securing rescues and arrests, but also to helping achieve justice for survivors. In early July, an OUR Rescue Survivor Care Manager was waiting to testify as an expert witness in a baby trafficking case in Jakarta, Indonesia. We are grateful for her important work and for her words that so beautifully articulate our shared commitment to the mission.

Reflections from the field:

“I used to refuse to continue studying law because I was afraid of lawsuits, so I went to study social work so I could help people who were suffering. However, fate decided otherwise. As time went by, it turned out that the skills I had as an expert in human trafficking still required me to appear in court, conduct lawsuits, go through investigation processes, and meet with lawyers. It turns out that an important part of protecting victims of human trafficking is providing expert testimony during the trial so that they can get real justice. Today, I represent OUR RESCUE INDONESIA as the manager of survivor care, preparing myself physically and mentally to give my testimony as an expert in human trafficking before the panel of judges. This is a long process after going through the process of investigating expert witnesses at the West Jakarta Police, a long investigation, many questions. I have to memorize them one by one, article by article from the Human Trafficking Law and the Child Protection Law; and we couldn’t go to lunch for fear that the trial would start if I left the courtroom.

However, there was a sense of happiness, like a pick-me-up, when the investigator said that the police believed this was a human trafficking case because it was in line with the results of the training I had given when OUR held a one-day training for investigators in West Jakarta. Another pick-me-up was when the police said that the Child Forensic Interview (CFI) room, which was fully supported by OUR, was very helpful when they wanted to discuss this case.

This trial felt very long. Instead of giving long testimonies, but going back and forth to the court, the trial was postponed several times, waiting in court all day, and there was a lot of deviation from the schedule that was in the letter. But of course, as a fighter against human trafficking and to fight for the rights of victims, I know that it will be meaningful for the continuation of their lives. This is the true meaning of caring for survivors – namely, doing everything in the best interest of the survivor.”