Abuse of female domestic workers must be ended

I had originally planned to use this week’s column to focus on some current political issues but as I remembered that this Friday, today November 24, is International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, I decided instead to turn attention to a major problem still facing thousands of our women, that is the abuse of domestic workers.

That is not to say that we must regard this important annual occasion. Indeed, this year, not only will November 25 continue the fight against the physical and emotional abuse of women, in the home, at workplaces and in the society at large, but it will also mark the start of an international campaign over the next 16 days leading up to Human Rights Day on December 10. This campaign in aimed at focusing global attention more deeply on measures to eliminate such violence against women by calling citizens to take appropriate action to show how much they care about the issue and to demand that governments take firmer action to rid our societies of this scourge.

These are not just worthwhile but essential measures for though very often we as citizens express abhorrence when we hear the news of extreme actions of violence against women, whether in the home or the society as a whole, many violent actions occur daily and pass under the radar. Sadly, in spite of all the demonstrations, rallies, resolutions and so on emanating from November 25 actions, too many people, all around the world, continue to take violence against women for granted as if it is natural, perhaps the “punishment” for the “original sin” as some contend. Shockingly, too many of our women now seem to accept this fatalistic view and it is shocking to hear of how many acts of violence against women, not just physical mind you, continue to be tolerated in our societies. It is all the more reason why we should, in one way or another, give our support for campaigns such as those around November 25 and urge our women and their organizations to step up their campaigns. Surely our local women’s organizations can do much better.

Today, this column takes the opportunity to extend the campaign for the rights of women to another area much overlooked in our society and in the world at large – the abuse of the rights of domestic workers. The international organization, Human Rights Watch states “Tens of millions of women and girls are employed as domestic workers in private households”. In such a private domestic setting, they do all kinds of work – clean, cook, take care of children and the elderly and perform other tasks, and errands, deemed “essential” by their employers.

While generally, there are national regulations governing their terms and conditions of employment, the reality is that needing to work to help take care of their families and largely not organized in any recognized grouping, they are forced to “toe the line” and accept tasks and conditions of work outside the framework of the law. It is amazing that even women who are active in demanding rights for women in the society as a whole do not respect such “full” rights for their domestic employees. They must do as they are told and subject themselves to the whims and fancies of their employers. Such are the pressures, especially on women who are single parent heads of households, that they are reluctant to complain officially for fear of losing their jobs. In small societies like ours social status can mean a lot.

It is all well and good to point to legislation and domestic regulations, social reality is another thing. How often do we hear of the contribution of female domestic workers being extolled? Are their invaluable contributions in carrying out domestic work appreciated and rewarded? Are we aware how many of them also have to put up with domestic abuse and sometimes even sexual exploitation by male employers?

In the absence of an organized campaign to end these abuses, they will continue. These domestic workers and their families are often treated as “inferior” to their employers and their families as though economic status overrides basic human rights. Even our local trade unions have not paid sufficient attention, in some cases none at all, to the plight of domestic workers. Some end up working longer-than-prescribed hours, sometimes on holidays without requisite remuneration and getting to and from work, to private out-of-the way addresses, can be a huge problem.

It is a problem that these women cannot solve by themselves. I want to urge the labour movement to lead the way. Let us not approach it from the standpoint of this union or that union benefitting but of accomplishing the task of organizing the sector. The Labour Department can and must play an important role in this, and the government, which boasts of it being a “government of labour” must treat this as a very special situation and give every support. We cannot have these women who take care of our children and parents enduring these unnecessary hardships. Other organizations such as those representing Christians, women and other civil society groups must lend a hand also.

Our female domestic workers need and deserve our wholehearted support.