Citation

Cheng SJ. Asian Pac. Migr. J. 1996; 5(1): 139-152.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, Scalabrini Migration Center)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

12291761

Abstract

This article discusses the legal systems in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan and the protection of migrant domestic workers who are vulnerable to domestic violence and abuse. Migration in the last 10 years in Asia has increasingly included female migrants who are usually employed in domestic services, the entertainment industry, and health care services. This work places women migrants in a vulnerable position in the isolation of households, away from public oversight. Labor laws are not applied to domestic workers, who are considered of low societal value. In Hong Kong, domestic work is covered under the labor laws, but the societal perception is that housework is not really work. Employer-employee relationships are more clear cut in institutional settings. Most domestic workers live with their employers. They are outsiders to families and must maintain professional relationships within an intimate environment. The isolation within a household discourages development of support systems and contacts with women doing similar work. There is a power struggle between women of unequal stature concerning the operation of the household and the interrelationships with family members. The power dynamic, the nature of the family structure, and culture are all interrelated. The first year's income covers the cost of securing foreign employment, and workers are vulnerable in this first year due to their debts. Employers protect their investment by working them to capacity or using fear and physical confinement to secure obedience. Workers are humiliated and immobilized. The comparison between the three countries illustrates the potential for protecting migrant domestic workers. Singapore and Taiwan lack sufficient legal and social support for migrant women, and Hong Kong must use a more comprehensive approach for integrating power dynamics, employment, work regulations, and labor status.

Language: en