On average, one domestic worker dies every week in Lebanon – either by suicide or by accident while attempting to escape from employers who keep them locked indoors. Many of these women come from Sri Lanka and other (South) Asian countries. Human rights’ groups say the abuse and isolation these women suffer are the key factors driving them to take or risk their own lives.

UN special rapporteur Gulnara Shahinian is in Lebanon this week to assess government initiatives designed to prevent domestic servitude. Shahinian is the first independent UN expert to monitor contemporary forms of slavery in the country.

“This is a positive step. Hopefully it will lead to the implementation of the needed reforms,” says Nadim Houry, Beirut director of Human Rights Watch (HRW). “People now recognise that many forms of contemporary slavery take place in Lebanon. It is no longer a secret.” 

Young and alone
Domestic workers are a common sight in Lebanon. You see Asian girls pushing shopping carts for their ‘madam’ in supermarkets and African girls carrying huge bags and screaming toddlers to the beach.

It is estimated that Lebanese families employ 200,000 migrant domestic workers mainly from the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Ethiopia. Most of them are young and leave their own families behind to earn an average $150 per month living with Lebanese families they have never met before.

Their employer becomes their sponsor which limits their freedom of movement.

Judicial failure
Lebanon’s judicial system generally fails to hold employers accountable when they violate the basic rights of domestic workers, HRW concluded in a report late last year. The study reviewed more than a hundred Lebanese court decisions affecting migrant domestic workers.

It found that they face many obstacles to justice in Lebanon, resulting in reluctance to report abuse to the authorities. Even when complaints are filed, the police and judicial authorities often fail to take them seriously.

“By turning a blind eye to violations affecting domestic workers, Lebanon’s police and judiciary are complicit in the ongoing violations by employers against this vulnerable group,” said Houry when the report was presented. “Locking someone up or slapping them is a crime regardless of the identity of the victim.”

Getting off lightly
HRW did not find a single example among the 114 cases it reviewed in which an employer faced charges for locking live-in workers inside homes, confiscating their passports, or denying them food, even though these violations are commonplace.

While the authorities have prosecuted certain cases of severe beatings against domestic workers, these cases remain rare and have led only to light sentences. Even employers who kill their workers often get off with light sentences.
 

Death rates
Research by several rights groups indicates that domestic workers in Lebanon suffer from surprisingly high death rates. Interviews carried out by HRW suggested financial pressures and excessive work, together with abuse and isolation, were key factors behind the figures.