Female Foreign Domestic Workers Research Articles

Social support and coping among female foreign domestic helpers experiencing abuse and exploitation in Hong Kong

IntroductionIn Hong Kong, female foreign domestic workers are hired to assist with household chores and care. This study examined the coping and support-seeking strategies that the workers use to tackle workplace abuse and exploitation within the structural confines of their employment.MethodsA mixed-method design that incorporated a face-to-face survey with 106 migrant domestic workers and 21 in-depth interviews was adopted.Results and discussionThe results showed that most participants experienced some form of abuse or exploitation. Verbal threats and time exploitation were the most common forms of abuse and exploitation, respectively. Participants' marginalized group status muted their voices when workplace hazards occurred. Accordingly, they preferred emotion-based coping over problem-based coping when encountering abuse and exploitation. Their focus on emotional management was reflected in their acceptance of workplace conflicts as taken-for-granted norms, their avoidance of communicating with employers, and their nonconfrontational endurance of adverse working conditions. Aligned with participants' focus on emotion management, they also reported a stronger need for emotional support than other support functions. Their major sources of emotional support were religious beliefs and other migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong. Employers had the potential to fulfill the workers' support needs, but they must take the initiative due to imbalanced power relations.

Elderly Caregiving Quality Improvement: A Pilot Study of the Burdens of Vietnamese Caregivers in Taiwan.

Taiwan is expected to reach super-aged status by 2026, leading to an increased demand for elderly caregiving services. Low local unemployment and a dwindling working-age population mean the island’s care system relies heavily on female foreign domestic workers (FDWs) from Southeast Asian neighbors such as Vietnam to satisfy labor shortages. Although suggested by anecdotal evidence, limited research has been conducted on the link between the shortfall in FDW qualifications, training, preparedness, and expertise and their employment stressors. Therefore, this study aims to assist FDWs by evaluating their stressors and helping them better understand health care delivery by (1) administering the Modified Caregiver Strain Index (MCSI) revised 2003 questionnaire, (2) performing semi-structured in-depth one-on-one interviews, (3) classifying interview results according to thematic analysis, and (4) using these themes to devise and deliver a 12-week multilingual health education teach-back program. Our results indicate that Vietnamese FDWs face specific challenges, including language barriers, homesickness, intensive physical and psychological work demands, stress adaptation, and occupational exposures. Despite yielding no significant improvements in caregiving strain, our intervention, conducted at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, pinpoints and classifies areas of grave concern and proposes recommendations that can assist long-term care (LTC) stakeholders in understanding and overcoming their respective challenges, thereby improving the quality of elderly care.

Determinants of COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake among Female Foreign Domestic Workers in Hong Kong: A Cross-Sectional Quantitative Survey.

Globally, minority groups and non-citizens may not be sufficiently included in the COVID-19 vaccine coverage. This study seeks to understand determinants of vaccine uptake among female foreign domestic workers (FDWs) in Hong Kong. We conducted a cross-sectional study of female FDWs (n = 581) from June to August 2021. Respondents completed an online survey obtaining sociodemographic, employment, and health status information. Based upon the socio-ecological model, we obtained individual, interpersonal, and socio-structural factors that may be associated with COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to examine factors associated with having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. At the individual level, agreeing that taking COVID-19 vaccines can contribute to COVID-19 control in Hong Kong (OR 6.11, 95% CI 2.27–16.43) was associated with increased vaccine uptake, while being worried of severe side-effects from vaccination (OR 0.29, 95% CI 0.16–0.55) was associated with decreased uptake. At the interpersonal level, those being encouraged by their employer (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.06–3.95) and family members (OR 2.27, 95% CI 1.17–4.38) were more likely to be vaccinated, while at the socio-structural level, believing vaccination would violate religious beliefs (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.06–0.65) was associated with decreased uptake. The government can formulate a multi-level approach according to our findings to target the remaining unvaccinated FDW population.

The influence of housing on sexual and reproductive health status and service utilization among Filipina migrant domestic workers in Macao (SAR), China: A population survey

ObjectiveSexual and reproductive health (SRH) and service utilization among female migrant domestic workers are under-studied. No studies to date have investigated the unique health vulnerabilities that affect female foreign domestic workers. The objective of this study was to investigate how stay-in and stay-out living conditions in domestic work may differentially affect SRH status, service utilization, and sexual risk behavior among female migrant domestic workers in Macao (SAR), China. MethodsData were analyzed from a cross-sectional survey conducted between November 2016 and August 2017 among 1368 female Filipina migrant domestic workers living and working in Macao. Participants were recruited through respondent-driven sampling. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to assess relationships between living context and outcomes of interest. ResultsDomestic workers’ living context (i.e. stay-in versus stay-out) was significantly related to sexual risk behavior patterns and SRH status and service utilization. Compared to stay-out workers, stay-in workers had reduced odds of sexual risk behaviors but were also more likely to report that their sexual partners were likely to have concurrent sexual partners. In addition, stay-in workers had significantly decreased odds of having visited an OBGYN in Macao in the past year. ConclusionsThis research is the first to evaluate the impact of stay-in and stay-out conditions within a foreign domestic worker population. This study further provides novel evidence of contextual factors (e.g. financial, employment, living conditions) that contribute to inequalities in SRH status and service utilization among Filipina migrant domestic workers. Results indicate that living context is significantly correlated with sexual risk behaviors, SRH status, and service utilization among domestic workers in Macao, highlighting the need to more effectively tailor specific interventions to meet female domestic workers’ needs.

Financial education for female foreign domestic workers in Singapore

We evaluate a randomized field experiment to study the effect of financial workshops for domestic workers in Singapore. Groups of women met monthly with a trained mentor. Take-up rates were low and our results are inconclusive as to whether invitations to these workshops improved financial knowledge and behavior. Unexpectedly, treatment assignment had a significant, negative effect on self-reported savings. Further exploration suggests that assignment to treatment could affect participants’ awareness of accumulated savings. We find a reduction in the number of savings accounts reported and an increase in the probability respondents report having disagreements with family members over finances.

Health Concerns among Sri Lankan Female Foreign Domestic Worker Returnees from the Middle East

Female foreign domestic workers (FDWs) are an important and growing occupational group, especially in the Middle East. Although Sri Lankan female FDWs comprise a significant percentage of those employed in this region, little is known about the health issues this population experiences during their employment. Prompted by this dearth in the extant literature, this study aimed to explore self-reported health problems and perceived causes, as well as health behaviors, beliefs, coping, and concerns of Sri Lankan female FDWs through the narratives of returnees formerly employed in the Middle East. Implementing a multi-faceted qualitative approach, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were utilized to investigate FDWs’ health problems, behaviors, and coping mechanisms. Participants’ health beliefs and concerns were explored through free listing and pile sorting. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis and descriptive statistics. Headaches, backache, irregular meals and symptoms of depression were the most frequently self-reported health issues, most commonly attributed to overwork. Cleanliness was the most commonly adopted health maintaining behavior. The presence of cultural health beliefs in terms of illness causation was revealed, and FDWs’ spoke of the perceived health benefits of social interaction and religious practice as coping strategies. Findings of this study have several implications for policy and future research. FDWs’ concerns and recommendations prompt the need for greater accountability, legal enforcement of policies, and strengthened training and health monitoring. Policy, prevention and intervention measures may be more effective if they consider FDWs’ self-reported health problems, health belief models, health maintaining behaviors, concerns and coping strategies

At home with strangers: social exclusion and intimate labor in Anthony Chen’s Ilo Ilo (2013)

ABSTRACTIn Singapore, many middle-class families employ foreign domestic workers (FDWs) to take on care and domestic work. In this setup, female FDWs need to be “a part of the family” and “feel at home” to better perform and render intimate labor, but they are structurally displaced and prevented from being fully integrated in both their employer’s homes and in the host country. Ilo Ilo (2013), a debut film by a Singaporean director Anthony Chen, has poignantly portrayed this paradoxical relationship by showing a young boy’s growing affection to his Filipina maid, and how this brief yet enduring bond demonstrates migration’s effects on both the foreign helpers and the middle-class families employing them. This Singaporean family melodrama depicts the affective nature of migration by demonstrating how FDWs are positioned as an intimate yet excluded figure inside the employer’s homes. The contradiction between intimacy and social exclusion seen in the film also simultaneously describes and prescribes the FDW’s place in the host country. The film illustrates the paradox of intimacy and exclusion in the host–guest worker relationship of employers and their maids within the private domains of household and the public discourse on FDWs’ claims in Singapore.

Explaining online health information seeking of foreign domestic workers: a test of the comprehensive model of information seeking

By explaining online health information seeking in terms of health-related and information carrier factors, this study contributes in two ways to conversations about communication and technology in the context of migration health. First, it examines the heuristic value of the Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking (CMIS) on the internet. Second, it explores antecedents of online health information seeking by female foreign domestic workers (FDWs), one of the overlooked and vulnerable groups because they are often unfamiliar with the healthcare system in countries of destination and have limited financial and informational resources. Drawing empirical evidence from a survey with Filipino FDWs in Hong Kong (HK), this study suggests that CMIS can be extended to the online health information seeking of FDWs. Salience and trustworthiness positively influenced utility. Moreover, trustworthiness and utility figured significantly in why Filipino FDWs in HK seek online health information. Theoretical and programmatic implications for communication and technology regarding positive health behaviors among migrants are discussed.

6.10-P28Below the surface: a systematic review on the mental health problems, sources of stress and coping among female foreign domestic workers

6.10-P28Below the surface: a systematic review on the mental health problems, sources of stress and coping among female foreign domestic workers

Employers’ concern does not help female foreign domestic workers sustain quality of life in Hong Kong

The usual but untested assumption is that the employer’s concern about the foreign domestic worker buttresses the worker’s life quality. To clarify how the assumption fares, this study analysed data from a survey of 1514 foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong, China. Results revealed that, contrary to the usual assumption, the employer’s concern for the worker posed a negative effect on the worker’s life quality. These results imply that cultural discrepancies between the worker and employer make the employer’s concern detrimental to the worker’s life quality. This detriment is explicable with exchange theory.

Psychiatric Morbidity, Phenomenology and Management in Hospitalized Female Foreign Domestic Workers in Lebanon

40 million female domestic workers worldwide experience the inhumane conditions associated with this unregulated occupation, a situation that induces psychiatric morbidities in many. The case in Lebanon is not any better where it is estimated that one foreign domestic worker (FDW) commits suicide weekly. 33 female FDW and 14 female Lebanese (control group, CG) were enrolled. Brief Psychotic Rating Scale (BPRS) and Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scales were administered on admission and discharge and socio-demographic, living conditions, mental health care data and phenomenological observations were collected. Sexual, physical, and verbal abuses were detected in FDW (12.5, 37.5, and 50.0 %. respectively). 66.7 % of them were diagnosed with brief psychotic episode. The mean duration of hospital stay (13.1 days) was significantly lower in the FDW group. The mean cumulative antipsychotic dose of the FDW was 337.1 mg of chlorpromazine equivalent and the mean BPRS total pre-score of FDW was 66.4 with a much improved state on the CGI global improvement scale, all of which were nonsignificantly different from the CG. Striking phenomenological findings among FDW were acute anorexia (39.4 %), nudity (30.3 %), catatonic features (21.2 %), and delusion of pregnancy (12.1 %). Inpatient FDW are more diagnosed with psychotic than affective disorders and receive approximately similar treatment as controls in spite of the trend to rapidly discharge and deport the worker to limit the costs. Both groups presented with similar severity, although the FDW had peculiar phenomenological observations.

Health issues of female foreign domestic workers: a systematic review of the scientific and gray literature

Although the number of female foreign domestic workers (FDWs) is increasing worldwide, little is known about their health issues. To systematically review the literature on health issues of female FDWs to ascertain the problems studied, identify limitations, and suggest future research and policy implications. A systematic database (PubMed, EBSCO Host, and Google Scholar) and bibliographic search identified the English-language scientific and gray literature published during 1990-2012 addressing health issues of female FDWs living with the family of the employer, using qualitative and/or quantitative research methods. Studies in which female FDWs constituted less than half of the participants were excluded. The health issues studied and identified were adverse work conditions and associated health problems (such as physical, verbal, and sexual abuse at the workplace, caregiving tasks associated with musculoskeletal strain, and chemical exposure associated with respiratory difficulty), mental health (psychotic, neurotic, and mood disorders), infectious diseases (most of the studies were on intestinal parasitic infections), and health knowledge/attitudes/practices (most of the studies were in context of sexual and reproductive health). Most of the studies were medical record reviews or questionnaire-based surveys utilizing convenience sampling or qualitative interviews/focus group discussions. Female FDWs face numerous health problems. Studies on representative, possibly longitudinal, samples of female FDWs focusing on specific health conditions are needed to better understand the epidemiology of such conditions. Concerted efforts through the governments of both labor-sending and host countries are required to improve the health, work conditions, and safety of this vulnerable group of women.

Managing Female Foreign Domestic Workers in Singapore: Economic Pragmatism, Coercive Legal Regulation, or Human Rights?

Singapore's immigration discourse is deeply influenced by its need to “right-size” its population. As a society that has and remains in need of immigration, contemporary immigration and globalization have rigorously challenged the conventional thinking and understanding of citizenship, as well as notions of who belongs and who does not. Nevertheless, international marriages and pervasive in-and out-migration for purposes of employment, study, and family, conspire to make more pronounced the decoupling of citizenship and residence in Singapore. This transnational dimension sits uncomfortably with the policy makers' desire for, and the imperatives of, state sovereignty, control, and jurisdiction.Although one quarter of people living in Singapore are foreigners, concerns of human rights and justice are largely peripheral, if not absent from the immigration discourse. This is seen most clearly in employment issues pertaining to foreign female domestic workers (FDWs), most of who come from other parts of Southeast Asia. ‘Rights talk’ is largely absent even as activists seek to engage the key stakeholders through the subtle promotion of rights for such workers.The government, however, has resisted framing the FDW issues as one of rights but instead has focused on promotional efforts that seek to enhance the regulatory framework. This dovetails with the reality that immigration law also functions as quasi-family law in which the freedom of FDWs and other foreign menial workers to marry Singapore citizens and permanent residents are severely restricted. As such, the immigration regime's selectivity functions as a draconian gatekeeper. Justice and human rights are but tangential concerns.

The Web‐based Recruitment of Female Foreign Domestic Workers in Asia

In the last three decades, there has been an increased “feminisation” of international migration within the Asian region. In part, the increased mobility of women migrant workers within Asia has resulted from the increased bureaucratic regulation of labour migration. This commodification of the migratory process, however, has placed women in significantly more vulnerable positions vis‐´‐vis their male counterparts. Comparatively little research, however, has examined the critical role of private recruitment agencies, and especially the use of the Internet, within the migratory process. In this paper, I examine the Web‐based recruitment strategies of private recruitment agencies in Asia. Based on a qualitative analysis of 25 recruitment‐related Web sites, I suggest that the commercialisation of migration serves an important “socialisation” process that contributes to the vulnerability and exploitation of female foreign domestic workers.