Indonesia - Indonesian domestic workers abused and exploited (2012)

According to an International Labour Organisation survey, a majority of domestic helpers stated they had experienced some form of physical abuse, mental abuse, and indicated they had been sexually harassed. Ill treatment can be as simple as employers forcing house staff to work up to 20 hours a day and not giving them time to have a break during the day or have a day off from work. Thirty nine percent of the domestic workers in Java surveyed stated they were not allowed to take breaks during the day, while 55% said they did not get a day off during the week. On 14 February 2011, Amnesty International said that Indonesian domestic workers, the vast majority of them women and girls, will remain vulnerable to exploitation and abuse unless the country’s parliament enacts a Domestic Workers’ Law. Indonesia imposed a moratorium on sending workers to Saudi Arabia after Indonesian housemaid, Ruyati binti Saboti was beheaded for the alleged murder of her employer on 18 June 2011. In Saudi Arabia, there are 23 Indonesians, mostly migrant domestic workers, who face the threat of the death penalty. On 30 May, Indonesia and Malaysia signed a memorandum of understanding that lifted a two-year ban on the sending of domestic workers to Malaysia. Indonesia implemented the ban following widely reported abuse of Indonesian workers in Malaysia.

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