Secara garis besar penelitian ini menjelaskan tentang bagaimana bentuk kekerasan terhadap perempuan buruh migran/PBM, dan bagaimana bentuk upaya survival PBM dalam menghadapi dan menyikapi kekerasan.
Kemiskinan merupakan alasan utama yang mendorong perempuan desa tergerak untuk meninggalkan kampung halaman bekerja sebagai pembantu rumah tangga di Arab Saudi. Masuknya perempuan dalam pasar kerja yang berarti telah terjadi pergeseran peran perempuan dari sektor domestik ke sektor publik, yang diasumsikan akan membawa kemajuan bagi perempuan, tidak serta membebaskan perempuan dari tindak kekerasan.
Kekerasan terjadi sejak awal hingga akhir siklus kerja: masa persiapan di kampung halaman dan tempat penampungan PJTKI, masa penempatan di Arab Saudi, masa kepulangan di bandana Soekarno Hatta dan di kampung halaman. Kekerasan mengambil beragam bentuk, yakni ekonomi, psikologis, fisik, dan seksual. Kekerasan muncul tidak bersifat tunggal, melainkan multilapis. Artinya, seorang PBM dapat mengalami 2 hingga 4 bentuk kekerasan sekaligus. Kekerasan terjadi berkaitan dengan 3 faktor, yakni gender, kelas, dan ras, sebagaiman posisi PBM, yakni sebagai perempuan. pembantu rumah tangga, dan pendatang.
Kekerasan bersifat interaktif dan struktural, karena pelaku kekerasan bisa individu, juga kolektif. Secara individual, pelaku adalah oknum aparat desa, calo/sponsor, suami atau ayah, majikan atau pegawai PJTKI, dan majikan. Secara kolektif atau kelembagaan, aktor yang terlibat adalah PJTKI, pemerintah dalam hal ini Depnaker dan KBRI atau Konsulat Jenderal, serta negara.
Di balik duka nestapa akibat kekerasan yang dialami, PBM memiliki bentuk upaya survival. Bentuk upaya survival yang dilakukan adalah bertahan/coping dan perlawanan sehari-hari (everyday forms of resistance). Terdapat bentuk variasi coping, yaitu: diam, berlari atau bersembunyi, dan menghindari sumber kekerasan. Perlawanan sehari-hari dilakukan dengan cara sabotase, berpura-pura sakit/pingsan, memperlambat pekerjaan, menggosip, dan berkorespondensi secara sembunyi-sembuyi. Terkadang bentuk perlawanan sehari-hari bisa menunjukkan tingkat yang lebih serius, yakni perang mulut dan adu fisik diperlengkapi senjata ala kadarnya.
Meskipun bentuk upaya survival tergolong parsial dan sederhana, tidak terwadahi dalam organisasi formal, dan tidak terkoordinasi dengan baik, namun secara nyata memiliki efek katarsist meringankan, memperbaiki posisi tawar dalam hubungan dengan PJTKI dan majikan, menumbuhkan kesadaran kritis dan militansi, mempertahankan semangat perlawanan kolektif dan organisasional, serta berkontribusi bagi lahirnya aktifis perempuan buruh migran di level grassroot.
Women Migrants Workers in the Midst of Violence: Study on Survival of Women Migrant Workers as Maidservant in Confronting and Reacting ViolenceIn brief, this research explain violence against women of migrant labor (PBM) and what the survival effort of PBM in confronting and reacting violence.Poverty is major basic that motives village women to leave their home to work as maidservant in Arab Saudi. Women's participation in the job market mean that there is occurred a forward movement of women's role from domestic to public sector and it is assumed that it would bring any progress for women; however, that freedom of violence not come all of a sudden for women.Violence against women is existed since the beginning to the end of the job cycle i.e. during the preparation phase in the homegrown and in the accommodating place of PJTKI, during the locating phase in Arab Saudi, the returning phase in Airport of Soekarno-Hatta and at their homegrown again. Violence against women takes any shape such as economy, psychological, physical, and sexual. Violence not emerge in one-man doer, but multilevel. Meaning, a PBM could face two or four kind of violence all at once. Violence is occurred in related to three factor i.e. gender, class, and race as well as the women's role as women, maidservant and newcomer.Violence against women is interactive and structural because the doer of violence could be individual or collective. Individually, the doer of violence is the village staff with bad manner, sponsor, husband or father, the employer or staff of PJTKI, and the boss. Meanwhile, the involved actors collectively or institutionally are PJTKI, the government in this case is Depnaker (Ministry of Men-power) and the representative office of RI or General Consulates, and the country.Behind the miserable as result of violence, PBM has such survival effort i.e. coping and everyday forms of resistance. Coping includes silent, run or hidden, and stay away the sources of violence. Everyday forms of resistance are such as sabotage, pretend to be ill or unconscious, slow down works, disseminate rumor and chitchat, secret correspondence. Occasionally, such everyday forms of resistance could show a more serious i.e. verbal dispute and trial of physical, completed with any of available weapon.Although such survival effort are partial and simple, not including in formal organization, and not coordinate well, however, it has effect of catharsis to relieve, improve the bargaining position in relation to PJTKI and the employer, develop ethical awareness and militancy, maintain the spirit of collective resistance and organizational and contribute the emergence of PBM activist at grassroots level.