Criminal Accountability for Perpetrators of Human Trafficking in Overseas Internship Activities

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-531-7_9How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Criminal Liability; Human Trafficking; Internships; Overseas

Abstract

Overseas internship programs are promoted to enhance the competence of young Indonesian workers through international cooperation. Behind these opportunities, implementation practices often harbor human rights risks, especially labor exploitation that may constitute the crime of human trafficking. The absence of specific, comprehensive rules on international internship governance creates legal loopholes exploited by recruitment agents and corporations under the guise of job training. This study identifies weaknesses in Indonesia’s positive law regarding overseas internships, analyzes forms of exploitation that fulfill elements of human trafficking, and examines criminal accountability for individual and corporate perpetrators. Using a normative juridical method (statute, conceptual, and case approaches), the study finds no lex specialis that directly regulates overseas internships. Exploitation in the form of forced labor, document retention, unpaid wages, and inhumane working conditions can fulfill the elements of Articles 2 and 6 of Law No. 21 of 2007 on the Eradication of the Crime of Human Trafficking. Criminal liability attaches to recruiters and corporations (imprisonment, fines, license revocation, and restitution). Effective law enforcement and cross-sector synergy among government, communities, and companies are required to implement safe internship programs, ensure interns’ rights, and prevent human trafficking.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Kasiaman Pasaribu
AU  - Kartina Pakpahan
AU  - Sonya Airini Batubara
AU  - Iin Hot Prinauli Purba
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/03
TI  - Criminal Accountability for Perpetrators of Human Trafficking in Overseas Internship Activities
BT  - Proceedings of the 1st International Forum on Psychology, Law, and Education (IFPLE 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 78
EP  - 83
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-531-7_9
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-531-7_9
ID  - Pasaribu2026
ER  -