Untapping a Power: How Nuraeni Turned Lived Experience into Strength

Good afternoon, everyone.

My name is Nuraeni and I am a domestic worker. I was a treasurer of Justice For

Domestic Workers now called The Voice of Domestic Workers and I have an

Indonesian group called Indonesian Muslimat.

I am here today not just with a story, but with a truth that reflects many others like

me—unheard, unseen, but deeply real.

When I first joined this peer research project about the experiences of domestic

workers—specifically within the trafficking advice sector—I didn’t know what to

expect. I was nervous. I wasn’t trained as a researcher. I wasn’t from an academic

background. I just had my experience—raw, lived, and deeply personal.

At the beginning, I thought it would be difficult. And it was. The training stretched

me—it was something new, unfamiliar. But once I started interviewing fellow

domestic workers, something shifted. The fear disappeared. Our conversations

flowed naturally—because I knew what they were talking about. I had lived it. I am

living it.

Those interviews weren’t just questions and answers. They were

mirrors—showing us our shared struggles, our resilience, and our strength. It

wasn’t just research. It was healing. It was empowerment.

All these years, when I looked outside of the domestic work sector—into other

sectors, where I hoped to bring my passion and knowledge—I was often told: you

don’t have enough experience. I was told: you haven’t worked in this field before.

I was told: you can volunteer, but we can’t pay you.

Volunteer? I have a child to support. Rent to pay. Bills to cover. Passion doesn’t

feed families.

It was frustrating. Because I have experience—just not the kind that fits neatly

into someone else's job description.

But lived experience is expertise.

When we talk about supporting survivors of trafficking… when we talk about

helping domestic workers… we need to ask: who truly understands the reality?

Who knows what it's like to be invisible, exploited, and silenced?

We do.

We know what it means to survive systems that fail us. We know what it takes to

rebuild trust. We know how to listen—not from a place of pity, but from shared

pain and shared power.

So today, I ask not for charity—but for recognition.

With the right opportunity, with training, with support—we can do the work. Not

just because we have lived through it, but because we are driven to help others

through it too.

I’m not just a domestic worker. I’m a peer researcher. I’m a mother. I’m an

advocate. And I’m proof that given a chance, we are more than capable—we are

powerful.

Thank you.

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