4.10. Threats when leaving

such cases to the “madam” and therefore, by maintaining a silence, further strengthened the power the males in the family wielded over her. However, in one instance, where an older woman encountered such sexual harassment from the younger son of the employer, she countered such actions by threatening to leave and complained to the sponsor.

The fact that one has access to a locked room was considered a benefit in providing a safe space for the women. But the fact that women are unable to counter harassment in any concrete manner and also seek redress by leaving the household, makes the women highly vulnerable to keeping quiet about such abuse.

4.10. Threats when leaving

Although some workers undergo difficult working and living conditions at times, very few make the decision to leave or seek help. This again raises the issue of endurance and high levels of tolerance noted among the women in particular, and how much the working and living conditions are normalised and accepted. In those instances, where women decided to leave the workplace, they had already sought help from the employment agency and had either been advised not to leave the household or to use an opportunity and flee the house altogether.

‘‘I was given so much work and was not paid. I was not allowed to sleep even. So I ran away. I went to the police, Baba said he will return in 8 days and pay my salary but he did not give me a cent.’’ - Gampaha, female, returnee.

‘‘They hit me so hard and so much and then took me to the agency. Then at the agency also, they hit me. I went from Sri Lanka because I wanted to resolve my problems so I decided to work at the agency. They sent me to another house. They also didn’t give me the wages so I was sent to another house. The madam in that house paid. Then the agency told me to go back to that old house and I refused. But I was sent anyway and when I got there, they beat me with the broom till it broke. I pleaded with the driver in that house to take me back to the previous house and was told to pay SLR150,000 if I wanted to change houses. I managed to do so and ended up staying there until I returned. She bought me shampoo and powder and all that and bought my ticket to come home also.’’ - Gampaha, female, returnee, 42 years.

When women decide to flee the employer, it is not a decision made lightly. They are aware of the consequences and seek help and assistance from relatives living in the same country or home in order to make a decision. While not all cases are resolved by the recruitment agency, there is also a fear that the agency would “sell” the woman to another household. The factors that lead a woman to make that “leap” cannot be easily generalised, and must be considered on a case-by-case basis. What is evident, however, is that women are discouraged from leaving the employer by the agency, both in Sri Lanka and in the country of destination; but those who decided to leave did so because there appeared no other viable solution to what they faced.

Women are also well aware of the stigma attached to those who leave the household. As one woman pointed out, the local agency had informed her husband that she had “eloped” with another man, whereas she had only sought refuge in the Sri Lankan embassy. For women, therefore, it appears to be a case of “doomed if you, doomed if you do not”.

In contrast, a few of the men who left the employer, managed to “get by” by working for daily, cash wages and without getting caught by the authorities, thus indicating that they can operate below the radar. There was only one case reported where the woman managed to change her status and work in a shop, living independently until the contract period was over. Apart from that, those women who made the decision to escape were either ‘resold’ by the agency to