CC BY-NC-ND
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Doi: 10.17323/1728-192x-2022-4-106-119
Violence against Female Domestic Workers in Kuwait
Fawaz Alanezi
PhD, Associate Professor
Sociology Department Faculty of Social Sciences
Kuwait University P. O. Box 68168, Code 71962 E-mail: [email protected]
Amer Al Saleh
PhD, Professor Sociology Department Faculty of Social Sciences Kuwait University P. O. Box 68168, Code 71962 E-mail: [email protected]
This study aims to examine the types and severity of violence and abuse encountered by female domestic workers in Kuwait. Methodologically, the study employed a quantitative approach. This study found that in terms of ethnicity and origin, Philippine and Sri-Lankan females dominated the social care and domestic workers sector in Kuwait. The statistical analysis showed that 82 % encountered physical abuse; 45%, sexual abuse; 88 %, psychological abuse; and 70 %, battering abuse. The paper recommends changes to Kuwaiti criminal laws to include proper prosecution of those who abuse domestic workers. It also recommends the implementation of proper protective mechanisms for these female workers. Keywords: domestic violence, physical abuse, battered women, Kuwait
Introduction
The topic of violence is not new to social science. There are different options and versions of its description, as in political philosophy (Arendt, 1969) or, say, in social and cultural anthropology (Feldman, 1991). In any case, approaches like these are primarily concerned with the properly political dimension of violence.
Our interest in this study concerns a different type of violence, that of domestic violence. Although the private or household sphere is traditionally assumed to be irrelevant to the political one, this is not entirely true in our case. Our study concerns violence against domestic workers in the Gulf countries. Since these workers are all immigrants, the themes of gender, ethnicity and race, protection of rights, and political interrelationships with their countries of origin are all addressed in our study. In recent times, a large percentage of Gulf families have become dependent on domestic workers of various nationalities. Workers from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, and other countries live with families in order to work inside their homes for a long period of time. According to a report in 2003, the number of domestic workers classified as immigrants reached approximately 812,000 in Saudi Arabia, 400,000 in Kuwait, 66,000 in Oman, 30,000 in
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RUSSIAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW. 2022. Vol. 21. NO 4
Bahrain, and 450,000 in the Emirates. These numbers are constantly increasing in Kuwait, the Emirates, and the rest of the Gulf countries so that the ratio of domestic workers to citizens is approximately 1:2 (Executive Office of the Council of Ministers of Social Affairs and Labor in the Gulf States, 2003).
Dessiye (2011) explored how these domestic workers get to the Middle East countries, their mental health status, and their experiences of sexual abuse, their work conditions, and their low position within Arab society. She also detailed the types of legitimate and illicit work that Ethiopian women take part in in the Middle East. Brahic, Olaiya & Jacobs (2011) clarified the disadvantages of the complex intersection of gender and labor oppression compounded by casual employment using the example of export-oriented horticulture estates in Africa, particularly in cut-flower farms in Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania. In their opinion, domestic workers are not given access to work. Furthermore, certain benefits such as housing allowances, medical benefits, maternity leave, collective bargaining rights, social protection, sick leave, etc., are not provided. They are also excluded from opportunities for promotion.
Furthermore, Vlieger (2011) asserts that the UAE and Saudi Arabia use exploitation and forced confinement as a standard part of their labor conditions, and those domestic workers are often victims of human trafficking. Additionally, she opined that such trafficking is most commonly driven by deception, misinformation, exploitation, and confinement. She, however, argued that it is societal norms that provide the reason why traffickers are not being prosecuted, not legal obscurities.
Domestic-worker abuse which usually occurs in private homes and is kept secret from the public has received more attention lately. The vast list of abuses performed by labor representatives and employers includes forced detention at work, nonpayment of salaries, physical, psychological, and sexual assault, as well as excessively long working hours without breaks. In the most severe cases, women and girls are trafficked into forced domestic work under conditions that are close to slavery. In addition, they are held captive in situations of forced labor.
Laborers who migrate from Asia, Africa, and the poorer Arab countries are used by the oil-rich monarchs of the Arabian Gulf as construction workers, guards, delivery workers, hairdressers, garbage collectors, and housekeepers, as a cheap workforce that keeps the machinery of daily life running.
The Abu Dhabi Dialogue forum on immigrants stated that, in 2016, the Gulf recorded nearly four million foreign domestic workers, and there has been a tremendous increase since (ILO, 2016). It also indicated a threat to the number of annual opt-ins for the region before the coronavirus pandemic, which was estimated to be 36,000 domestic workers (Kuwait Times News 2015). The Gulf countries use a sponsorship system for employing foreign domestic workers, which practically gives their employers total control over them. With this sponsorship system, they are required to obtain permission from their employer before leaving the country, it is almost impossible to change jobs, and their bosses often confiscate their mobile phones and passports.
Over 53 million people worldwide work as household helpers with women making up the majority of this workforce, although a more accurate number would be greater than
100 million. A little over 40% of them are employed in the Asia Pacific region (ILO, 2013). The duties performed by domestic workers in their private homes include taking care of children and the elderly, cleaning, cooking, and laundry. Some are subjected to servile conditions and circumstances. Adel Alkassadi (2000) opined that most domestic workers are not paid their wages by their employers, their identity documents are being withheld, they are kept indoors and instructed not to communicate with their family members, and very often, they are intimidated and abused. Domestic workers, particularly females, suffer many psychological, emotional, physical, and sexual abuses. To avoid the stigma attached to such exploitation and abuse and for fear of what could become of them, most female domestic workers that experience abuse rarely speak out. The threat of losing their job with the economic impact it may have on their families also makes them silent. The majority of live-in domestic workers receives poor treatment, lives in substandard quarters, receives very scarce food, is deprived of their basic needs, and is under an unreasonable amount of pressure with no fixed working hours (Adel Alkassadi, 2000).
This study aims to examine the types and severity of violence and abuse encountered by female domestic workers in Kuwait. It is a quantitative research paper whose purpose is to identify the overall situation of violence against domestic workers. Additionally, it relates this to the issues of gender, race, and ethnicity, and offers concrete recommendations for improving the situation.
The Overview of Violence against Female Domestic Workers in the Gulf and Kuwait
The most prevalent and common form of domestic violence is physical abuse or assault. It always starts with a quarrel, resulting in forceful wrist grabbing or escalating shoving. Physical abuse or battering becomes frequent over time and is usually more severe, eventually leading to the victim's death (Hattery, 2009). Domestic violence takes different forms; it can include attacking, hitting, kicking, obnoxious attacks, conservative maltreatment, and psychological maltreatment with the intent to humiliate the victim (Karmen, 2007).
Verbal abuse is also a common form of violence against domestic workers, having very different connotations in various socio-ethnic backgrounds. For example, raising the voice, yelling, and scolding are perceived as much more severe measures in the Philippines than in Kuwait. This leaves migrant workers from this or similar ethnicity offended or shocked (SAIS, 2013).
Some workers face physical abuse. Several female workers report having suffered sexual assaults, including rape, by their male sponsors. Spurred by a recent increase in reported maltreatment and sexual abuse cases, Mga Oragon sa Kuwait (a Kuwaiti-based Filipino rights group) presented a petition on 2nd September, 2013, to the Philippine consul, General Raul Dado. Signed by more than 10,000 Filipino workers in Kuwait, it called for an immediate moratorium on the further deployment of Filipino domestic workers to Kuwait and the Middle East (Arab Times, 2013). There are records of worker exploitation on both the Philippines and Kuwaitis sides.
Wage-nonpayment is one of the major domestic workers' complaints, as reported by the Kuwaiti Association for the Basic Evaluators of Human Rights. A complaint can be filed for nonpayment, late payment, or withholding of certain amounts. In addition, workers often face excessively long working hours without time off for rest; "In Kuwait, the average time for domestic work ranges from 78-100 hours per week." (ILO Convention, 2007). They are given no days off; they are forced to work around the clock, especially during religious holidays; they live in poor conditions, and suffer from unfair wage deductions (SAIS, 2013).
This study focuses on the violence against female domestic workers in Kuwaiti society, specifically, actions such as physical abuse, battering, sexual and psychological abuses that are understood to be only a few forms of abuse that female domestic workers encounter in their employer-employee relationships. There are several issues faced by domestic workers due to the power and place differences between employer and employee. In the vast majority of cases, these issues result in an abusive relationship. These domestic workers endure violence because there are no reporting mechanisms or alternative opportunities. Therefore, they have no other option than to remain in their job and tolerate the abuse, which creates a permissive environment for it to continue, and even escalate.
In recent years, Kuwait has been experiencing an increase in violence against domestic workers, a situation that has brought disagreement between Kuwaitis and Filipinos. In 2018, a Kuwaiti court sentenced a Syrian woman and her Lebanese husband to death for killing their Filipino housemaid, as reported in Al Qabas newspaper. According to the report, the maid, Joanna Daniela Demafelis, was murdered a year earlier. Her corpse was discovered in a freezer in the couple's flat in a populated residential area of Kuwait called Hawally. According to the state-run National News Agency, Nader Essam Assaf, 40, confessed to murder and was charged by a prosecutor in South Lebanon. His Syrian wife, Mona, is in custody in Damascus, where the couple was arrested a month after the discovery of the corpse.
A forty-seven-year-old Filipino domestic worker, Constancia Lago Dayag, a native of Angadanan in the province of Isabela and working in Kuwait, was allegedly sexually abused and beaten to death by her employer. It was reported that Dayag was taken to the Al Sabah hospital with a hematoma and a cucumber lodged in her vagina.
Another case of an Ethiopian domestic worker who was beaten to death by her female sponsor was also reported by the A-Rai newspaper (2018). Kuwaiti detectives found blood spots and bruises on her body when she was found dead at her sponsor's home. The female sponsor confessed that she had beaten the victim because she (victim) did not do her job, and that after the beating, she locked the room door out of fear that someone might notice the bruises on her body. On reopening the door, she discovered the maid dead. She then narrated the incident to her husband, and the maid's death was reported.
In 2020, according to Gulf News, a 46-year-old Sri Lankan maid was tortured to death by a Kuwaiti couple. The case was investigated and reported by the local media. The maid was brought by her Kuwaiti sponsor to Amiri hospital in Kuwait, where she died, with traces of wounds, cuts, and burns on her body.
Lastly, the Kuwaiti Times (2015) reported a murder case in the Umm Al-Hayman area, where a 27-year-old Kuwaiti man stabbed a Sri Lankan housemaid to death, and was later arrested by the police. After Kuwaiti detectives in Ahmadi discovered the body, the suspect was sent to the relevant authorities while the case was registered for investigation.
The study found that this type of harassment is widespread, and many victims lack the right words to describe or discuss this issue. In addition, the majority of targets are casual and temporary female workers.
Gender Role Theory
Culture plays a major role in perpetuating interpersonal violence (IPV) against women. Moreover, patriarchal ideology and gendered resources work hand-in-hand to enable men to gain control over women, thus increasing the rate of IPV (Mann, Takyi, 2009; Cassiman, 2000; Nukunya, 2003; Derry, 1987). Studies like Levinson (1989) and Sugar-man & Frankel (1996) show higher levels of patriarchal ideology in societies that tend to have higher rates of IPV.
In a patriarchal society, gender role differentiation is a characteristic feature. Roles are acted according to expectations as defined for men and women (Coontz, Henderson, 1987; Parsons, Bales, 1955; Rosaldo, 1974). Men produce and create artifacts and cultural values in the 'public sphere', while women have to care, maintain, and procreate as assigned in the 'domestic sphere' (Coontz, Henderson, 1987; Parsons, Bales, 1955; Rosaldo, 1974).
According to Connell, five principles constitute "the logical core of role theory": ^Differentiation between individuals and positions occupied; 2. A set of activities or job practices following the position; 3. Role assumptions or standards specifying activities vested in a position; 4. Role senders and reference groups — those who ensure that role expectations are met;, and 5. Role application through sanctions — positive and negative reinforcements. In the application of role theory to sexual roles, "The main idea is that being a male or a female is generally attributed to one's sex — the 'sex role'. In a given context of the sex role, there are always two sex roles, the 'male role' and the 'female role'; less commonly but equivalently called 'male's role' or 'female's role', the 'masculine or 'feminine role', etc." (1987).
It is critical to understand that men are policing specialists when it comes to power. The reason for this is that not only do they have the 'manly' role, but they also provide consistency through different sanctions. Researchers have contended that male brutality against females, as a rule, is articulated through men's position to authorize women's compliance with sex roles in both the private and public spaces. (Ampofo, 2008; Hattery, 2009; Hunnicutt, 2009; Stith, Farley, 1993).
The Feminist Perspective
Workers organization coupled with action research has given 'voice' to those women/ females suffering brutality and abuse; this is the first step in feminist labor mobilization and policy formulation.
Feminist theorists see the brutality of men toward women as an occurrence that has been masked and influenced by what they refer to as domestic violence. The feminist view stresses the patriarchal nature of society. It sees it as a system of male supremacy that emphasizes man's power. The feminist view stresses the patriarchal nature of society. It sees it as a system of male supremacy that emphasizes the man's power. Social and economic processes operate directly and indirectly to support a patriarchal social order and family structure. Patriarchy is the causal factor behind the historical pattern of systematic violence directed against females, and it has led to the devaluation of women.
In line with Bloomquist, the social constructs of patriarchy resulting in violence against women define the relationship between men and women as that of dominance and subordination. The feeling of powerlessness coupled with society's emphasis on violent imagery increases the temptation to resort to the violent control of women. This is in order to assert manhood and a sense of personal power that is not being expressed outside of the home.
1. The research question that guided the study is: What are the forms and severity of violence encountered by female domestic workers in Kuwait City?
2. The hypothesis was formulated to explore the question of the levels of violence against female domestic workers in Kuwait City most frequently perpetrated in the form of sexual, psychological and physical abuse such as beating or severe physical violence.
Sampling and Method Design
The study was conducted in 2018, and 1,655 women were recruited from the total number of 1,700 cases reported in the various residential governorates of Kuwait City. Kuwait is administratively-divided into six governorates: al-Ahmadi, al-Jahra, Mubarak al-Kabir, al-Asima (in Arabic "the capital," including the area around Kuwait City where approximately 94% of the total population resides), al-Farwaniyya, and Ha-walli. They have slightly different rules and regulations, but are governed by Kuwaiti policies under one ruler. The six governorates have a Parliament (majlis al-umma) of 50 directly-elected members, and up to 16 ministers who are directly appointed by the emir.
The sample comprised of 1,145 Philippine and 510 Sri Lankan female domestic workers. In addition, a purpose sample was selected from private and governmental residents, and apartments or floor residents in Kuwait City; this technique was used to focus systematically on the target population. A random sample of 40 blocks was selected from six governorates. Microsoft Excel® was used to create a list of 10 random houses in each block. A sheet with complete census and geographical information was given to the researchers. To ensure clarity of questions and understanding of meanings, the instrument was checked on a pretest sample of 20 cases before data collection.
The sample was chosen to represent the total population of each of the six governo-rates in Kuwait City. Face-to-face interviews and questionnaires were used in late 2018 by a team consisting of two field supervisors and 15 researchers who were specially trained in the process of collecting data. The field supervisor was given a pre-approved schedule by the principal researcher. The objective of the study was communicated to all respondents, and informed consent was verbally obtained prior to the interview. Respondents were individually interviewed for confidentiality, and they participated of their own free will. The sample response rate was 98%.
Data Collection and Procedures
The study employed a questionnaire with several questions that covered the respondents' socio-demographic characteristics while dealing with the major subject of violence against female domestic workers.
1. Socio-demographic data. The questionnaire consists of questions about the respondent's nationality, the governorate of residence, age, etc., as shown in Table 1.
2. Violence against women. Linda Marshall (1992) developed a 46-item questionnaire known as the Severity of Violence against Women Scale (SVAWS). It is used to assess the frequency and severity of physical aggression by male partners against women. Female domestic workers were asked questions about the violent behaviors (contained in a list) they had been exposed to during the past 12 months (e.g., threw an object at you; threatened to kill you; hit or kicked a wall or door; threatened to hurt you, etc.). Three sub-scales further captured the seriousness of violence, which consisted of psychological, physical, and sexual violence. The acts of violence sub-scale comprised 21 items measuring mild, moderate, minor, and serious acts of physical violence (e.g., slapped you with the back of his hand, choked you, pulled your hair, and pushed or shoved you). Lastly, the level of sexual aggression inflicted by employees was measured using six items (e.g., physically forced you to have sex). Items were listed based on the perceived severity of the acts. Female workers, filling the questionnaire on a scale ranging from never (1) to a great many times (4), indicated the acts of the past year on how often their employers inflicted pain on them. The validity and reliability results indicated that these scales have adequate internal validity (Cronbach's alpha = 0.89) for the following subscales: 1.psychological violence; 2. physical violence; 3. severe physical violence; and 4. sexual violence.
3. Women's Experiences with Battering Scale (WEB). The WEB scale was also used to measure trauma, susceptibility to psychological and physical danger, and control in a relationship with most employers that female domestic workers experience (Smith, Earp, DeVellis, 2002). The WEB scale can be made gender-neutral by changing "he" to "my boss", but it has not been validated on male victims of female violence or casualties of same-sex battering. Participants responded on a 6-point Likert scale (strongly disagree = 1; strongly agree = 6), and a summed total score can be created as a result of the responses to 10 statements. As for IPV, a score of 20 points or higher on the WEB is con-
sidered positive. Research has shown that the WEB is a more comprehensive and sensitive screening tool when compared to other validating tools. However, its primary focus is on physical assault. IPV has been identified among Caucasian and African American women through the WEB evaluation in various studies (Anyikwa, 2015; Satyen et al., 2019).
Reliability and Validity
The reliability of various instruments used in the analysis was determined using Cron-bach's alphas computation. For SVAWS, the results were 0.85 for the total sample, 0.89 for Filipino domestics, and 0.79 for Sri Lankans. High values indicate that SVAWS has a high degree of internal consistency. The coefficients for the four subscales were as follows: Cronbach's alpha scores for battering (0.75), psychological violence (0.79), physical violence (0.82), and sexual abuse (0.73).
Sample and Socio-demographic Characteristics
The sample for this study consisted of 1145 Philippine (69.2%) and 512 Sri Lankan female domestic workers (30.8%) from different residential governorates in Kuwait City. Female domestic workers from the Jahra governorate accounted for 49.5 % of the sample, 31.4% from the Hawalli governorate, and 17.9% were from the Farwaniya governorate. In terms of living conditions, 42.8% resided in private residences for domestic workers, 41.4% reside in governmental residences, and 15.8% lived in an apartment or floor. Domestic respondents between 21 and 25 years of age accounted for 39.6 % of the sample. 22.3% of the domestic respondents were 36 and above, domestic workers between 26 and 30 years of age composed 21.4%.
Table 1. Sociodemographic characteristics
Governorate
Hawalli 520 31.4%
Jahra 819 .49%
Mubarak Alkabeer 7 .4%
Alassima 8 .5%
Alahmadi 3 .2%
Farwaniya 297 17.9%
Education
Diploma 195 11.8%
elementary 203 12..3%
Higher Edu and High sch 71 4.3%
illiterate 171 10.3%
primary 25 1.5%
university 394 23.8%
Type of Resident
Private Residences 708 42.8%
Government Residences 685 41.4%
Apartment 262 15.8%
Age
16-20 50 3%
21-25 655 39.6%
26-30 354 21.4%
31-35 227 13.7%
36 and Above 369 22.3%
Data analysis
The statistical analysis showed that 82% of respondents encountered physical abuse; 45% — sexual abuse; 88% — psychological abuse; and 70% met with battering abuse as shown in Table 2. In this research, 1357 (82%) female domestic workers attested to being physically abused by their employers by being hit with instruments, slapping, severe beating, etc., while 745 (45%) reported that they were sexually harassed. The survey revealed that 1456 (88%) domestic workers were psychologically abused by using hurtful words, emotional blackmail, etc., and 1159 women (70%) were battered.
Table 2. Violence against female domestic workers in Kuwait City
Types of Violence No of Respondent %
Physical Abuse 1522 82 %
Sexual Abuse 1523 45 %
Psychological Abuse 1456 88 %
Battering Abuse 1572 70 %
As shown in Table 3, overall, there are substantial positive associations and significant correlations at the level.01 between all forms of violence (physical, sexual, and emotional) in this study. For example, the correlation coefficient relationship between psychological abuse and serious physical violence against women is .503. This correlation coefficient is very high, implying that there is a strong positive significant relationship between psychological abuse and severe physical violence against female domestic workers. Also, sexual abuse and battering have a strong association with serious physical violence.
Table3. Correlation coefficients
Correlations
Batter Women Sex Abuse Psychological Abuse Serious Physical Violence
Women Battering Pearson Correlation 1 -.О28 .Об9** .207**
Sig. (2-tailed) .2б3 .ОО8 .000
N 1650 1548 1453 1519
Sexual Abuse Pearson Correlation -.028 i .49О** .384**
Sig. (2-tailed) .263 .ООО .000
N 1548 1551 138О 1440
Psychological Abuse Pearson Correlation .069** .49О** 1 .503**
Sig. (2-tailed) .008 .ООО .000
N 1453 138О 1455 1361
Serious Physical Violence Pearson Correlation .207** .384** .5О3** 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .ООО .ООО
N 1519 144О 13б1 1521
**. Correlation is significant at the О.О1 level (2-tailed).
Table 4 presents the association between Women Battering, Sexual Abuse, Psychological Abuse, and Serious Physical Violence by using multiple regression analysis. Women Battering, Sexual Abuse, and Psychological Abuse are independent variables, and Serious Physical Violence is a dependent variable. The significance value (t=7.o88, p=o.ooo<o.oi) reveals that Serious Physical Violence is related to Women Battering. Also, the beta coefficient of Women Battering (6 = 0.438) is positive. It reveals that if the value of Women Battering increases, then it will lead to a more Serious Physical Violence.
The significance value of Sexual Abuse (t=6.555, p=o.ooo<o.oi) which is less than 0.01 indicates that Serious Physical Violence is dependent on the Sexual Abuse. Also, the beta coefficient of Sexual Abuse (6 = 0.326) is positive. It reveals that if Sexual Abuse increases in value, then it will lead to an increase in Serious Physical Violence. Hence, there is an association between Sexual Abuse and Serious Physical Violence.
Similarly, when Psychological Abuse is considered as the third independent variable, the significance value (t=14.834, p=0.000<0.01) is less than 0.01, and this suggests that Serious Physical Violence is dependent on Psychological Abuse. Also, the beta coefficient of Psychological Abuse (6 = 0.120) is positive. It reveals that if Psychological Abuse increases in value, it will increase Serious Physical Violence. Accordingly, there is a corre-
lation between Psychological Abuse and Serious Physical Violence. In addition, Women Battering, Sexual Abuse and Psychological Abuse might be able to explain 54% of the variance in Serious Physical Violence (R2 value =0.540). Hence, there is an overlap between Women Battering, Sexual Abuse, Psychological Abuse, and Serious Physical Violence.
Table4. Multiple regressions predicting physical violence against female domestic workers
Coefficientsa
Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig.
B Std. Error Beta
(Constant) 6.471 1.064 6.085 .000
Women Battering .438 .062 .166 7.088 .000
1 Sexual Abuse .326 .050 .177 6.555 .000
Psychological Abuse .120 .008 .401 14.834 .000
a Dependent Variable: Serious Physical Violence
Discussion
Quantitative results showed that physical abuse, battering, psychological, and sexual abuse were the highest forms of violence against Philippine and Sri-Lankan female domestic workers. In Kuwait, toxic masculinity is regarded as part of the cultural context. This concept sees men as morally, intellectually, and physiologically superior to women, thus providing the rationale for the patriarchal basis of the society. According to feminist theories, the gendered patterns of violence against female domestic workers are, to a great extent, accelerated by prevailing male gender roles that characterize manliness. If men feel their masculinity threatened, they may seek to reinforce it through violent behavior toward women. This study's results are consistent with those of Anderson (1997), Dobash & Dobash (1979), and Johnson (2006). A crucial examination of participants' responses points to the theory of gender role norms, which suggests that men in the "public sphere" specialize in the creation and production of cultural values and artifacts, whereas women are assigned to roles of care, maintenance, and procreation in the "domestic sphere" that is conventionally considered as utterly private and depoliticized. This is consistent with the findings of Coontz and Henderson (1986), Parsons and Bales (1955), and Rosaldo (1974).
Conclusion and Recommendations
The study found that violence against domestic workers is a widespread and pressing issue. Its victims often lack the right words to describe or discuss it, since most are women of foreign origin hired on a casual or temporary basis. For this reason, it is also accompanied by all of the other identity problems associated with gender, toxic masculinity, ethnicity, and race. However, given the size of the problem, action must be taken as quickly as possible. Kuwait does not have any specialized female facilities to deal with the issues of physical protection, psychological aid, or human rights, but some measures should also be taken in this direction. To combat this injustice, we require a more specialized and regional approach. Even though Kuwait is a stunning country with innumerable amazing people, injustices like these prevent it from realizing its full potential.
This study recommends that domestic worker abuse should result in due punishment, that Kuwait should embrace positive changes in its laws and policies, that protective mechanisms also should be implemented there, that civil society initiatives should be encouraged and strengthened in Kuwait and the Philippines, and that there should be increased bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
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Насилие по отношению к женщинам-домашним работницам в Кувейте
Фаваз Аль-Энизи
PhD, доцент, Департамент социологии, Факультет социальных наук, Университет Кувейта. Адрес: P. O. Box 68168, Code 71962 E-mail: [email protected]
Амир Аль-Салех
PhD, профессор, Департамент социологии, Факультет социальных наук, Университет Кувейта Адрес: P. O. Box 68168, Code 71962 E-mail: [email protected]
Цель данного исследования — изучить виды и степень тяжести насилия и жестокого обращения, которым подвергаются женщины, работающие в Кувейте домашней прислугой. В качестве метода использовался количественный подход. Исследование показало, что с точки зрения этнической принадлежности и стран происхождения в секторах социальной и домашней работы доминируют женщины, прибывшие с Филиппин и Шри-Ланки. Статистический анализ показал, что 82% сталкивались с физическим насилием; 45% — с сексуальным насилием; 88 % — с психологическим насилием; и 70 % — с побоями. В статье содержатся предложения по изменению кувейтского законодательства, предусматривающие ужесточение наказания за жестокое обращение с домашней прислугой. Также в статье предлагается внедрение надлежащих механизмов социальной защиты для женщин-работниц, столкнувшихся с насилием и жестоким обращением.
Ключевые слова: домашнее насилие, физическое насилие, женщины, подвергшиеся побоям, Кувейт.
