We are helping the organizers of a conference to be held in the Philippines in 2008 on the issues of violence against women migrant workers and trafficked women and girls.

The Philippines, a major source of female migrant labor, has been in some ways a model for change and at the same time it is struggling to find solutions. Similarly, the goal of the proposed conference will be (i) to promote regional action and (ii) to attract international attention to the issues, while highlighting the need to restore momentum to the women’s movement worldwide, as we approach the 15th anniversary of the historic UN meetings in Beijing.

FWAsia is providing strategic planning and professional advice to the conference organizers.

Why Be Concerned About Violence Against Trafficked and Migrant Women Workers?

• The Philippines sends about 3,000 workers abroad a day. There are approximately 8 million Filipinos, which means 1 in 10 are abroad. About 70 % of these workers are women.
• Filipino women working overseas account for US$2 billion in annual foreign exchange remittances. Close to 35 million Filipinos rely on overseas workers’ remittances.
• At least 700 Filipino workers, mostly women, die each year due to mistreatment or abuse by employers.
• In 2005 alone there were 9.5 million victims of forced labor in Asia; an estimated 1.2 million children and adolescents under the age of 18 are affected every year.
• Most of them go abroad to do demeaning, dirty or dangerous work in order to support their families in the Philippines. Poverty drives people, especially young people, toward risky behaviors such as sex work. Young people are often hardest hit by poverty because their specific needs are addressed inadequately by governments.

Purpose of the Conference

• To draw renewed vigor and attention to the fight to stop violence against female migrant workers and trafficked women and girls.
• To link the Philippines reform efforts on violence against trafficked and migrant workers’ right to the larger regional and international developments in the field of women’s rights.
• To create a platform of action tat will call for action and accountability by duty bearers both in the Philippines and in the region.

Outcomes of the Conference

• Integrate international women’s human rights norms into law, policy and action to stop violence against women, broader adoption and stronger enforcement of laws and development of new legal remedies and a spur to ratification of key international conventions impacting women.
• Attack against the root causes of violence against women in encouraging women’s economic self-reliance through new investment in training and skills development in entrepreneurship and microfinance.
• Develop women and young women as leaders in the fight for their rights.
• Produce a conference resolution that will be a strong call for action on women’s rights issues leading to the Beijing 15-year milestone, leading to advocacy with governments in the region.