4.9. Physical and Sexual Abuse

The use of CCTV within the house and the kitchen in particular, acted as a strong means of control on how women behaved inside the household. In one instance, the woman noted that her own room had been under surveillance and had discovered this because the children mentioned seeing her undressing. Other women reported that the “madam’ would keep an eye on her, using the phone, indicating that the CCTV systems were being monitored remotely. This level of surveillance on the lives of female workers further imperils their ability to exercise the limited freedom they are offered within the household. Being under such constant surveillance could also be detrimental to their psychological wellbeing, creating a sense of hysteria of constantly being watched.

Another pressing issue for the female migrant workers was whether toiletries such as soap, shampoo and toothpaste had to be bought or was provided for free by the employer. Many of those who complained about the female employer being “not good” cited the fact that these basic amenities were not provided for free. It is unclear if this expectation is informed by the Agreement or is a practice that is generally associated with the domestic work sector.

Among the women, access to a phone and owning a phone was considered crucial but one that needed to be negotiated. In a specific case, the returnee reported that the daughter of the employer destroyed the SIM card and took the mobile phone away. In many instances, women bide their time and after a few months, request a phone from the employer. Until such time, they rely on the employer to provide limited access to the house phone for which international phone cards are provided by the employer and the cost deducted from their wages. Some of the women reported using smart phones to call home, through the popular application Imo.

The researchers noted the considerably high use of smartphones among women, especially when they offered to show pictures and videos of the houses they worked in. Hence, while restrictions may be placed on mobility, women are increasingly accessing the outside world using such technology - a fact that has been directly attributed by some female returnee workers and a large number of male returnee workers for leading women “astray”. The research team came across a few isolated incidents where women had met their Sri Lankan partners through social media such as Facebook, culminating in marriage or plans to marry in the near future.

4.9. Physical and Sexual Abuse

Among the returnee workers, men did not report any instances where they were subjected to physical or sexual abuse, whereas, among the women working within the domestic sector, there were a few isolated incidents reported on such abuse. But men were vocal about the abuse women experience at the hands of the male sponsor and the inability of the women to retaliate. This was one of the main reasons cited by returnee men to control the out-migration of women for work.

Verbal abuse was the most commonly reported issue among women, especially when the workload had not been completed. Women reported the employers checking if the completed tasks were up to their standards; failure to meet those standards would lead to being verbally reprimanded. Some of the women also faulted the children for carrying tales to the parents, which then leads the sponsor to lash out verbally against the worker.

Physical and sexual abuse - though reported - were only a few isolated cases, but where reported, these experiences could be only termed as harrowing. In two specific instances, the women experienced severe beatings and were threatened with death. Locking up the women, undressing them as a form of humiliation and denying them food were reported. In both these cases, being forced to or threatened with the use of household cleaning/ bleach substances such as Clorox was also noted. In cases where sexual harassment was reported, the women feared punishment for reporting