Domestic workers are employed in private homes to provide services such as cleaning, laundry, shopping, cooking and caring for children and the elderly.

Employment as a domestic worker is one of the main opportunities for women who migrate within Asia Pacific.

Globally, one in every 25 female wage earners is employed in domestic work.

An estimated 1.9 million of the domestic workers in Asia Pacific are being exploited.

Domestic workers who have experienced exploitation have reported being forced to work excessive hours, such as 20-hour working days, with no weekly day off.

Migrant domestic workers are often expected to work off debt they incur for travel and/or the recruitment fees; this can take up to a year or longer.

Domestic workers who have experienced exploitation have also reported low or no pay, food and water deprivation, sexual abuse and rape.

Over US$6.3 billion in illegal annual profits are generated from forced labour in domestic work in Asia Pacific.

Illegal profits obtained from exploiting domestic workers show that US$3,300 is being withheld from each exploited domestic worker every year.

Many employers confiscate their domestic workers’ passports/ immigration papers to keep them secure and/or to ensure their domestic workers do not run away.