Challenges of Human Rights Enforcement in Mitigating the Exploitation of Children and Women a Comparative Study of Victim Protection Systems for Human Trafficking

Abstract

Human trafficking, particularly targeting vulnerable groups such as women and children, is one of the oldest yet most modern forms of human rights (HR) violations in the 21st century. Although the international community has declared war on modern slavery through the Palermo Protocol, the reality of law enforcement in many developing countries, including Indonesia, continues to face extraordinary systemic challenges. The fundamental issue lies in the conflict between a criminal justice paradigm focused on punishing offenders (retributive justice) and the state's obligation to mitigate exploitation and provide comprehensive human rights protection. Criminal justice systems often create spaces for secondary victimization, where victims' fundamental rights to trauma recovery, physical protection, and economic compensation are reduced to bureaucratic and transactional administrative matters serving the interests of courtroom evidence. This study is normative legal research that integratively applies the statute approach, human rights approach, and comparative approach. The research focuses on a critical evaluation of Indonesia's legal framework for mitigating human trafficking, particularly Law Number 21 of 2007, which is then diametrically compared with victim protection systems in two European countries, namely Germany and the Netherlands. The findings confirm that the challenges of human rights enforcement in mitigating human trafficking in Indonesia stem from the lack of independence of victims' recovery rights from the criminal adjudication process. In contrast, the comparative study demonstrates that Germany and the Netherlands have moved far beyond this paradigm by implementing a victim-centered approach in which victims are granted temporary residence rights, unconditional financial compensation from the state, and psychosocial care without requiring testimony as a prerequisite. This study recommends amending national regulations to establish a Victim Trust Fund and integrated service institutions independent of the police as a tangible manifestation of Dignified Justice that respects human autonomy and dignity. Challenges of Human Rights Enforcement in Mitigating ... (Oda Susanto) The copyright of this document is owned by Faculty of Law UNISSULA and is protected by the law ║ 161 FACULTY OF LAW PROCEEDING OF INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE LAW DEVELOPMENT FOR PUBLIC WELFARE ISSN: 2798-9313 LICS 2026 Topic: Strengthening Legal Frameworks for Combating Human Trafficking and Enhancing Protection of Women and Children These findings contribute significantly to the discourse on cross-jurisdictional human rights criminal law reform. Keyword: Exploitation; Protection; Systems; Trafficking; Victim. 1. Introduction Human rights violations in the modern era are no longer monopolized by authoritarian state regimes but have shifted toward transnational underground corporate crimes that exploit human suffering through human trafficking. Sexual exploitation, forced labor, and organ trafficking are manifestations of the collapse of a legal civilization that has failed to protect individuals from the greed of the global economy. Universal human rights instruments have long established that freedom from slavery is a non-derogable right under any circumstances. However, globalization has instead facilitated criminal syndicates in operating across borders, making human trafficking the third most profitable crime in the world after arms trafficking and narcotics. Within this pyramid of human trafficking crimes, women and children occupy both the lowest and the most vulnerable positions. This absolute vulnerability does not occur in a vacuum; rather, it is the product of social construction, the feminization of poverty, lack of access to education, and layered structural discrimination in developing countries. Women and children are often manipulated with deceptive promises of decent employment or transnational marriage, ultimately resulting in the deprivation of their physical freedom and bodily autonomy. Therefore, mitigating their exploitation cannot rely solely on border patrols but requires a comprehensive reconstruction of the legal protection system. The intersection between criminal law and human rights constitutes the most crucial test in mitigating human trafficking exploitation. Traditional criminal law generally views human trafficking merely as "a crime against the state" or a violation of public order. This narrow perspective is highly dangerous because it eliminates the humanitarian dimension of the victims themselves. A human rights-based approach requires the state to respond to this crime not only by pursuing perpetrators but also by fulfilling its positive obligations through due diligence to care for, restore, and reintegrate victims into society as free and dignified human beings. The Indonesian government, de jure, has demonstrated a strong commitment in responding to international demands by enacting Law Number 21 of 2007 on the Eradication of Human Trafficking. This legislation is a domestic elaboration of the Palermo Protocol, promising a Challenges of Human Rights Enforcement in Mitigating ... (Oda Susanto) The copyright of this document is owned by Faculty of Law UNISSULA and is protected by the law ║ 162