Many of them are from countries in Asia. Shamela's and Chanti's stories are unusually visible cases since they both involve high-profile employers. So many more women are part of an invisible group of workers that are very difficult to reach. They are truly invisible because they are imprisoned or hidden in the homes of wealthy professionals and possess few survival skills to reach out for help. The most common abuse is financial, Neela says.
Most workers make way below minimum wage, and vacation time and other benefits are unheard of.
The number of hours they work is compounded by the fact that many live with their employers and are on call nearly 24 hours a day. Physical and verbal abuse is also common. They are also in a precarious situation because they don't know anyone outside. They have no family or resources. They don't know the system and its hard or scary for them to reach out for help.