Protecting the Rights of Women Migrant Domestic Workers: Structural Violence and Competing Interests in the Philippines and Sri Lanka

Migrant women across Asia disproportionately work in precarious, insecure, and informal employment sectors that are subject to few regulations, pay low wages, and expose them to harm, such as domestic work. This book develops a comprehensive, intersectional, rights-based approach to better protect women migrant domestic workers against exploitation in the Philippines and Sri Lanka. It argues that these two sending states are guilty of structural violence by sustaining a network of institutions, policies, and practices that disadvantage and discriminate against women migrant domestic workers. The research covers the entire migration process, from pre-departure to overseas employment, followed by return and reintegration.

Format: Hardback
Length: 196 pages
Publication date: 10 February 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Migrant women across Asia face significant challenges in accessing secure and well-paid employment, often being relegated to precarious, insecure, and informal sectors that lack regulations and offer low wages. Domestic work, in particular, is one of the most prevalent forms of employment for migrant women, yet it often comes with heightened risks of exploitation, gender-based violence, torture, and even death.
The scale of the problem is alarming, with reports of exploitation, gender-based violence, torture, and death among migrant domestic workers increasing globally. In the Philippines and Sri Lanka, two of the leading labor-sending states of women domestic workers in Asia, the situation is particularly dire. These two countries have become increasingly dependent on the remittances sent back home by migrant domestic workers, making them vulnerable to the exploitative practices of employers and recruitment agencies.
Drawing on extensive original research, this book argues that the Philippines and Sri Lanka are guilty of structural violence by sustaining a network of institutions, policies, and practices that systematically disadvantage and discriminate against women migrant domestic workers. The research covers the entire migration process, from pre-departure to overseas employment, followed by return and reintegration.
The book's innovative application of structural violence theory as a way to investigate the role of state institutions in labor-sending countries in the Global South will be of interest to researchers from across the fields of migration studies, gender studies, human rights law, and Asian Studies.
To address the challenges faced by migrant women domestic workers, it is essential to adopt a comprehensive and intersectional rights-based approach. This includes ensuring access to fair labor laws, protections against discrimination and exploitation, and access to basic social services such as healthcare, education, and social security.
Furthermore, governments and international organizations should prioritize the prevention of migration and the promotion of safe and legal channels for migration, including the provision of legal migration pathways for women domestic workers.
In addition, efforts should be made to raise awareness about the rights and protections of migrant women domestic workers and to provide them with access to support services, such as counseling, legal aid, and social work.
Ultimately, the protection and rights of migrant women domestic workers must be recognized as a fundamental human right, and efforts must be taken to ensure that they are treated with dignity and respect throughout their migration journey.

Weight: 540g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032015583