The government-funded research by the Asian Migrant Centre also shows labour contract violations are common, with Indonesian women faring worst. The incidents are not isolated but have racial, class and gender patterns.
Researchers believe the discrimination stems from the nature of the domestic helpers' work.
The researchers claimed that discriminatory attitudes had been reinforced by government policies such as the rule refusing them permanent residency even after staying in Hong Kong for seven years. They hoped that the research could be used as a reference in the debate on whether there was a need to enact anti-racism legislation in Hong Kong. The report will be submitted today to the Home Affairs Bureau, which funded the project. A spokesman for the bureau last night said it could not comment on the report until then. The assault was only discovered when she was taken for hospital treatment after an attack.