Many migrant communities often face significant barriers to accessing legal help. There is a considerable gap between migrant communities and legal resources where legal help is scarce, lawyers are out of reach and legal aid is not available whether it is in countries of destination or where they come from.

We believe that empowerment must come from within migrant communities. For too long, others have sought to speak on behalf of migrant workers, and have denied migrant workers the autonomy and agency to represent themselves and their peers. Gender inequalities make it even harder for women workers to seek justice.

We develop community paralegal programs with our regional partners to train worker representatives, grassroots advocates, and women leaders in basic law and in skills like negotiation, organising, education, and advocacy and equip them with tools to protect their rights, advocate for fair treatment, and provide legal and community support to their peers.

We also work to build and sustain legal clinics with regional partners and strengthen the civil society support network.

o Through our community peer advocates program, we trained 145 female migrant workers and leaders in the Philippines and Indonesia in legal rights and advocacy in 2023-2024.

o We supported our regional partners in the training of lawyers and paralegals that are working with grassroots communities in Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines to improve access to justice.

Legal Empowerment