"They deceived us at every step"
Subtitle: abuse of Cambodian domestic workers migrating to Malaysia
By: [Jyotsna Poudyal]
Contributors: Human Rights Watch (Organization)
Publisher: Human Rights Watch
Published: 2011
Place of publication: [New York, N.Y.]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 104
ISBN-13: 9781564328236
Subjects: Human rights; Abuse of; Women foreign workers; Household employees; Cambodians; Women household employees
Other titles: Cambodia/ Malaysia, "they deceived us at every step"; Abuse of Cambodian domestic workers migrating to Malaysia
Description: "In order to support themselves and their families, and with few opportunities at home, between 40,000 to 50,000 Cambodian domestic workers have migrated to Malaysia since 2008. These women and girls often experience exploitation during the labor migration process, which is largely facilitated by recruitment agencies.  "They Deceived Us at Every Step" examines the migration of Cambodian women and girls as domestic workers to Malaysia and the failure of the Cambodian and Malaysian governments to protect them from abuse and exploitation. The report is based on 80 in-depth interviews in Cambodia and Malaysia with migrant workers and members of their families, representatives of local and international organizations, and government officials.  Recruitment agents in Cambodia forge fraudulent identity documents to recruit children, offer cash and food incentives as loans that leave migrants deeply indebted, and confine recruits in training centers for months without access to adequate food, water and medical care. The initial loans, recruitment costs, and inflated fees can trap domestic workers in a cycle of debt that makes opting out of migrating impossible.  Once in Malaysia, domestic workers are excluded from national labor laws and are vulnerable to a range of abuses. This report documents forcible confinement in the workplace, long working hours for little or no pay, lack of adequate food and medical care, and cases of physical and sexual abuse. When abuses occur, domestic workers have little recourse for protection from the Malaysian government. The Cambodian embassy in Malaysia lacks adequate staff, skills, and resources to deal with domestic workers coming forward with complaints of abuse.  A climate of impunity and sometimes the complicity of Cambodian authorities in abuses lie at the heart of the exploitation of domestic workers. The report recommends stronger regulation and monitoring of recruitment agencies in Cambodia, labor law reforms in Malaysia, and effective access to support services and channels of redress in both countries."--P. [4] of cover.
Notes: "This report was written by Jyotsna Poudyal, Alan R. and Barbara D. Finberg Fellow for 2010-2011 in the Women's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch."--P. 104.

"November 2011."

Includes bibliographical references.
Table of contents: title: Summary and Key Recommendations; title: Methodology; title: I. Background; title: Migration of Cambodian Women and Girls; title: Migration of Cambodian Domestic Workers to Malaysia; title: The Migration Cycle; title: II. Recruitment-Related Exploitation and Abuse in Cambodia; title: Recruitment Fees and Illegal Lending Practices; title: Deception and Lack of Information during Recruitment; title: Recruitment of Girls; title: Collusion between Agencies and Government Authorities; title: Migrant Domestic Workers Who Have Lost Contact; title: Medical Tests without Informed Consent or Counseling; title: III. Abuses in Cambodia's Training Centers; title: Deaths in the Training Centers; title: Forced Confinement and Restrictions on Communication; title: Poor Living Conditions and Denial of Health Care; title: Paying the Price of Freedom; title: IV. Abuses in Malaysia; title: Unpaid Wages; title: Physical, Sexual and Psychological Abuse; title: Restrictions on Freedom of Movement and Poor Working Conditions; title: Agency-Related Abuses in Malaysia; title: V. Forced Labor and Practices Akin to Debt Bondage; title: VI. Barriers to Justice in Malaysia; title: Cambodian Embassy Response; title: Legal Protection for Domestic Workers in Malaysia; title: Response by the Malaysian Authorities; title: VII. Protection Failures in Cambodia; title: Regulation of Labor Migration in Cambodia; title: Implementation of Government Migration Policy; title: Lack of Effective Government Oversight; title: Failure to Investigate and Prosecute Abuses; title: Lack of Support for Returned Migrants; title: VIII. Cambodia and Malaysia's International Human Rights Obligations; title: IX. Recommendations; title: To the Government of Cambodia; title: To the Parliament; title: To the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training; title: To the Ministry of Interior, the Police, and the Ministry of Justice; title: To the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; title: To the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training, Ministry of Women's Affairs and Ministry of Interior; title: To the Ministry of Health; title: To the Association of Cambodian Recruitment Agencies (ACRA); title: To the Governments of Cambodia and Malaysia; title: To the Malaysian Government; title: To International Donors, including the United Nations, World Bank, United States and Japan; title: Appendix A: Letter Sent to the Royal Embassy of Cambodia in Malaysia; title: Appendix B: Letter Sent to the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training; title: Acknowledgments.