OSCE Special Representative calls for more effective action to tackle trafficking for domestic servitude

VIENNA, 28 February 2011 – The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro called for greater awareness of trafficking for the purpose of domestic servitude and more effective action to tackle the crime, during the launch of a new publication focusing on domestic servitude today.

The publication, entitled Unprotected Work, Invisible Exploitation: Trafficking for the Purpose of Domestic Servitude, is the fourth in a series of Occasional Papers focusing on trafficking for labour exploitation.

“Domestic workers are part of our daily life and often the primary providers of care to our loved ones,” said Giammarinaro. “Most of these courageous and hard working people – mainly women and girls – migrate to support their families and find a decent job. But those workers who fall prey to unscrupulous people – people who subjugate them to take advantage of their unpaid work – must be protected.”

Domestic servitude is a particularly invisible form of trafficking for labour exploitation, which is difficult to detect due to the hidden nature of the work provided, she said. Given that it takes place out of sight in private households, it poses special challenges for investigation and prosecution, as well as for providing assistance to victims and ensuring their access to justice. Furthermore, the problem of domestic servitude in diplomatic households should be effectively tackled.

Giammarinaro also drew attention to social norms and gender roles affecting the understanding of what constitutes decent domestic work.

“We have to challenge discrimination, the perception of domestic workers as low-status workers, and the undervalued nature of domestic work as such, which is often not considered as real work,” said Giammarinaro. “All these social and cultural patterns contribute to increasing the vulnerability of workers to domestic servitude.”