At OUR Rescue, we are deeply committed to not only ensuring rescues and arrests but to also helping secure justice for survivors. In early July, an OUR Rescue Survivor Care manager was waiting to testify as an expert witness for a baby trafficking case in Jakarta, Indonesia. We are grateful for her important work and for her words that so beautifully articulate our united dedication to the mission.
Reflections from the field:
“In the past, I refused to continue studying law because I was afraid of trials, so I ended up studying social work so I could help people who were suffering. However, fate said otherwise. Over time, it turned out that the skills I had as an anti-trafficking expert meant that I still had to face courts, trials, investigation processes, and meet with lawyers. It turns out that an important part of protecting victims of human trafficking is providing expert testimony at trial so that they can obtain true justice. Today, I represent OUR RESCUE INDONESIA as a survivor care manager, preparing myself physically and mentally to give my statement as an anti-trafficking expert before the panel of judges. This is a long process after going through the expert witness investigation process at the West Jakarta police, a long investigation, lots of questions. I have to remember one by one, article by article from the trafficking law and child protection law; and we couldn’t go for lunch for fear that the trial would start when I left court.
However, there was a feeling of happiness, like a mood booster, when the investigator said that the police believed this was a trafficking case because it was in accordance with the results of the training I had given when OUR held a one-day training for investigators in West Jakarta. Another mood booster was when the police said that the Child Forensic Interview (CFI) room, which was fully supported by OUR, was very useful when they wanted to discuss this case.
This trial felt very long. Instead of providing long testimony, but going back and forth to court, the trial was postponed several times, waiting in court all day, and greatly deviated from the schedule written in the letter. But of course, as an anti-trafficking fighter and to fight for the rights of victims, I know it will be meaningful for the continuation of their lives. This is the true meaning of survivor care – namely, doing everything in the best interests of the survivor.”