Philippines: New report shows that exploitation of Filipino domestic workers is ‘widespread’ in the US in part due to lack of legal options
"Exploitation of Filipino domestic workers 'widespread' in the US, new report shows", 4 August 2019
…[T]housands of domestic workers in the US…fac[e] “widespread vulnerabilities and rampant exploitation”, according to a report jointly released by the National Domestic Workers Alliance and Polaris, an NGO which helps victims and survivors of human trafficking.
Most of the domestic workers trafficked by their employers were from the Philippines, with workers from India and Indonesia also among the top 10 most vulnerable in the US, the Polaris-operated National Human Trafficking Hotline learned.
… Some had fallen prey to bogus jobs and many ended up trapped in the households of both Americans and expatriates, including diplomats and officers of international organisations.
… Most of the “employer-traffickers” reported to the national hotline were from the US, with some holding dual citizenship, followed by nationals from Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Qatar and the Philippines.
… Domestic workers have been “explicitly excluded from some labour protections and de facto left out of others”, which has not only practical implications, but has also shaped the way they are perceived by employers, the study said.
[Full report can be accessed here.]