Public Health Issues

Migrant Domestic Workers in Lebanon

The exploitation of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon has received a lot of attention in the media and by international organizations. Domestic work is usually negotiated and performed in the privacy of the employer’s home, which gives him or her power and control over the migrant worker.

“Servant, Daughter, or Employee?” reports on the results of a pilot study carried out by professor Sawsan Abdulrahim on the normative attitudes and practices of Lebanese employers towards migrant domestic workers. The study was commissioned by KAFA, an NGO that works against violence and exploitation.

Results of the study show that Lebanese employers reject blatant abusive practices such as hitting the domestic worker, not paying her wages, or not giving her enough food and time to rest. On the other hand, the majority of employers view practices which equally violate the dignity and rights of domestic workers as acceptable and even necessary to protect the worker and the employer. Over 88% of employers withhold the passport of the domestic worker to prevent her from escaping and 80% do not allow her to leave the employer’s house on her day off.

The report focuses on how commonly accepted norms and attitudes interact with inadequate policies to enhance the power of employers and contribute to the vulnerability of migrant domestic workers. It offers recommendations to guide future awareness campaign plans that target employer attitudes and practices and that link to more comprehensive policies.