Reconceptualizing Victim Protection Frameworks for Women and Children Against Human Trafficking: A Human Rights-Based Approach in Indonesia

Abstract

Human trafficking remains one of the most serious human rights violations, disproportionately affecting women and children as the most vulnerable groups. Although Indonesia has established a relatively comprehensive legal framework through national legislation and the ratification of international human rights instruments, significant challenges remain in the implementation of victim protection, particularly regarding victim identification, access to justice, rehabilitation, restitution, social reintegration, and inter-agency coordination. This study aims to analyze the implementation of human rights principles in protecting victims of human trafficking, evaluate the conformity of Indonesia's legal framework with international human rights standards, and formulate a more comprehensive victim protection model. This research employs normative legal research using statutory, conceptual, and comparative approaches based on primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials. The findings reveal that victim protection should move beyond an offender-oriented criminal justice approach toward a comprehensive human rights-based framework that recognizes victims as rights holders and the State as the primary duty bearer. As the study's principal contribution, it proposes the Integrated Human Rights-Based Victim Protection Framework (IHR-VPF), consisting of six interconnected pillars: Prevention, Early Identification and Immediate Protection, Access to Justice, Recovery and Reintegration, Institutional Coordination, and International Cooperation. The proposed framework offers a comprehensive conceptual model for strengthening sustainable protection of women and children against human trafficking in accordance with international human rights principles.