A victim who escaped sexual abuse says Burmese migrant women should not work as domestic workers in Thailand

http://www.ghre.org/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=193:a-victim-who-escaped-sexual-abuse-says-burmese-migrant-women-should-not-work-as-domestic-workers-in-thailand&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=70

Monday, 23 March 2009 10:06


A Burmese domestic worker who ran away from sexual abuse by her employer said Burmese Migrant Women should not work as domestic workers in Thailand.

The girl, who is 20 years old and from the Pago Division of Burma, was working as a domestic worker in Thailand when she finally escaped from her employers who had been making many sexual advances towards her. She arrived at the Burmese Association in Thailand yesterday.

“I had been about 3 months in Bangkok. My employer’s wife is bisexual and she showed me sex movies all the time. When I took a bath she touched my body and sometimes they had sex in front of me. That made me really embarrassed and I was ashamed. They asked me to make another wife of him. I wanted to make money from my work, I did not want to be someone else’s wife” said the girl.

The employer is over 60 years old and his wife is about 30 years old. The girl had to stay in the same room as them so she was not safe. She was waiting to find the right opportunity to run away from the house. Now she and another Burmese maid have managed to run away from the house.

“I heard that he has since called the broker who sent me to Bangkok and asked him to send me back to him again. The two brokers who are Karen women are looking for me everywhere in Bangkok. I’m so sad that Burmese brokers are making profit from Burmese workers. Especially as I was not even happy for one day at that house. I had to work day and night, the food was not good and we did not have enough to eat” said the girl.

Daw Thet Thet Oo who is an organizer and women’s program coordinator said “We have come across many cases like this. However we try to help them in any way we can, even though we are also migrant workers. They can live and eat with us together. Our organization has no money to help the workers. For their health needs we have had to ask other organizations. We explained to the workers that what we have is knowledge. In Bangkok we need effective organization to help migrant workers. This is a very large area and many of the factory and house owners do not even allow the workers to go outside. I would like to urge the women not to work as domestic workers as it gives them no security, they could endanger their lives.




If victims of exploitation have no work permit or legal status in Thailand they are still held in detention or “safe houses” to be deported back to Burma, even if those migrant workers have been abused by their employer. Moreover, during the court case the female victims must stay at the government-run women’s shelter for about a year without any income. It also takes a long time for even NGOs and other labor agencies to help get justice for the victim.

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