UKRI GCRF 2020

Socio-economic and health impact of Covid-19 on international female migrants and their left-behind families in Indonesia

The Covid-19 pandemic has indeed give impacts to whole society, including female migrant workers and their left-behind family in Indonesia. The pandemic has made life become more difficult for migrants worker in overseas countries. Many of migrant workers have their working hours reduced or lost their job that might cause them to lose their income. As a consequence, they can only able to send less money or even no money at all to their family in Indonesia. It is then affect the life of their left behind children, husband and parent as they might be neglected during this difficult time.

In order to profoundly understand the social, economic and health impact of Covid-19 pandemic toward female migrant worker’s family, the Portsmouth Brawijaya Centre for Global Health, Population and Policy undertake a research about the impact of the pandemic toward female migrant workers and their left-behind family in Indonesia. The research is funded by the UKRI GCRF (United Kingdom Research Innovation Global Challenge Research Fund) 2020. This research was started in August 2020. We conduct study in Sukowilangun Village, Sub-district Kalipare, Malang Regency. The study location was chosen considering its demographic and socio-economic patterns of female migrant workers in Sukowilangun that resembles the common patterns of Indonesian female migrant workers. Those patterns including the economic background of female migrant who are mostly come from low-income family, their marital status, have left-behind children and husband, and also most of them are working in household sector such as a household assistant of family care-taker. The research was conducted through an in-depth interview with 30 migrant household, as well as conducting survey to 605 household with 1926 family members. This Policy Brief consists of main finding collected from our study. We expect that it might provide useful information for policy maker in order to enact policy or programme that aims to provide assistant for the left-behind family of female migrant workers in Indonesia.

Click below to view our Policy Brief

• PB UKRI GCRF Policy Brief – Dampak Covid-19 Terhadap Keluarga Migran Perempuan yang Ditinggalkan
• PB UKRI GCRF Policy Brief – Protecting female migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic