Tricked and Trapped: Human Trafficking in the Middle East, ‎pdf 4.1 MB

given that it is not easy for a migrant domestic worker to open a bank account
in the destination country. This mode of payment makes it very difficult for
government authorities to monitor payment of salaries and apprehend those
employers who do not respect the law.
Psychological, physical and sexual violence
In the most extreme cases, the employer or agent will resort to physical or
sexual violence, or threats of violence, against the domestic worker, to exploit
them and prevent them from leaving. 82 A Kenyan domestic worker in
Lebanon found her special treatment degrading: “I had a separate bathroom
and kitchenware. I was not allowed to eat on the same plate as other members
of the family.” 83 Another woman from Cameroon, who at the time of the
interview still had very short hair, said: “I was forced to cut my hair and dress
in rags as my Madam said that I was poor and had to remain poor.” In such
cases, the control of the employer over the domestic worker can be absolute,
determining the image the worker should have of herself and taking away her
self-confidence and indeed her very identity.
Several domestic workers spoke of the verbal insults and beatings they
had receives from their employers. A few domestic workers interviewed
also reported being victims of sexual harassment and rape. A Kenyan
domestic worker in Lebanon reported that her employer had shown her
pornography on his iPhone and showed her photos of him naked. “He
would call me into the bedroom and ask me in front of his wife, ‘How do
you feel? You don’t want to see me making love?’ I got very nervous, so
I told the employer’s sister what was happening.” A Bangladeshi domestic
worker in Lebanon confided in the interviewer that “I was forced to work
for no money for a whole year and was forced to have sexual relations with
Mister. Even when I refused and beat him he’d still force me.” A Nepalese
domestic worker in Lebanon reported that she had been raped by her
employer and had told his wife, but that the wife had subsequently accused
her of lying. Violence against domestic workers also has been documented
in other countries of the Middle East (for one example see box 3.6).
by the first party to show it when necessary”).
82
Sexual violence is commonly associated with trafficking for sexual exploitation, yet
research has demonstrated that sexual violence is also used as a form of psychological
and physical coercion to compel labour. For more information, see Global Freedom
Center, Overlooked: Sexual violence in labour trafficking (Washington, DC, and San
Francisco, n.d.) pp. 1–2.
83
A recent study on Ethiopian domestic workers revealed racial insults and
discriminatory behaviour from employers: see B. Fernandez: “Cheap and disposable?
The impact of the global economic crisis on the migration of Ethiopian women
domestic workers to the Gulf”, (July 2010), in Gender and Development (2010, Vol. 18,
No. 2, July), p. 254.
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