The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that there are currently 11.6 million documented migrant workers residing in South-East Asia and the Pacific sub-region and nearly half of them or about 5.2 million are women. Many of those women migrant worker working in domestic work, entertainment, seafood processing, electronics manufacturing, garment manufacturing and construction sector.

Despite their crucial contributions to the economies and societies of both origin countries and Thailand, migrant workers, especially women, frequently experience negative attitudes, discrimination, exploitation, and sometimes violence during the migration process. Realizing that knowledge and understanding about women migrant workers among groups of people in different sectors are key to eliminating discrimination and violence against women migrant workers, and to achieving the SDG 5 – Gender Equality, SDG 8 – Decent Work, SDG – 10 Reducing Inequality, and SDG 16.2 – Stopping Abuses and Human Trafficking.

Thammasat University (TU) is considered the first university in Thailand that has a policy to prevent and respond to violence against women. The university has organized activities to promote and raise awareness among students about gender equality and ending violence against women, such as holding special lecturing on gender equality, organizing a public forum to exchange views on violence against women migrant workers, and organizing “Spotlight Training Camp” for 50 young leaders. The latter event allowed students to work with women migrant workers directly and create a project to tackle the issues of violence against women migrant workers.

Najira Aomsap, one of the TU students participating in the project, said her views on migrant workers have changed after participating in the “Spotlight Training Camp”. After she talked and worked with women migrant workers, she realized that they suffered from violence more than she thought.

Thammasat University students joining the project have obtained awareness, knowledge, and abilities to help stop violence against women migrant workers as well as to change attitudes of people towards migrant workers. The move will help strengthen sustainable development.

For more information on the “Spotlight Training Camp”, please refer to:
https://www.khaosodenglish.com/sponsored/2020/12/15/eu-ilo-un-women-join-forces-to-organize-a-campaign-spotlight-on-generation-equality-encourage-new-generation-to-create-gender-equality-eliminating-violence-against-women-m/