The report shows widespread cases of forced labour, with women denied passports and subjected to physical or sexual abuse.
Oman is failing to protect migrant domestic workers who are victims of human trafficking, trapped in violent homes and subjected to physical and sexual violence without access to justice or a safe home address, according to a report.
Do Bold, an organization working to help and repatriate migrant staff trapped in the Gulf, interviewed 469 Sierra Leonean domestic workers working in Oman for the report. It concluded that all but one of the women interviewed were victims of forced labour and human trafficking. .
Most of the women interviewed said they had been cheated or deceived through recruiters. Some said they had been promised jobs in restaurants and hotels in Europe or the United States, while others said they had the idea that they had applied for scholarships to examine abroad. they were trafficked as domestic paintings upon arrival in Oman.
Do Bold said 80 percent of women reported running between 16 and 20 hours a day and 99 percent did have a day off. one said she had suffered a wage theft and a third said she had been sexually abused.
Do Bold calls on Oman to take steps to control human trafficking well and allow migrant staff who are victims of abuse or trafficking to access justice.
As in many Gulf countries, it is not uncommon for Omani families to hire housewives, hired in low-income countries in Asia and Africa through agencies that may not be largely regulated.
Migrant domestic staff hired in Omani paintings under the kafala sponsorship system, which links their legal prestige to their employer. If a painter breaks the contract and leaves – or runs away, if he is a victim of abuse, for example – this is a crime. and may lead to the imprisonment of the painter.
The report found that concern about punishment deters victims of trafficking and forced labor from seeking help from the Omani government.
Adama*, a twenty-something domestic worker, said she called Omani police earlier this year after months of physical violence by her employers and provided evidence of injuries sustained from the lashes. In an interview for the report, Adama said he told police he believed his life was in danger and begged to be allowed to return to Sierra Leone.
Adama said police visited her at her employer’s home and spoke to the family, but then dropped her off. As punishment, she says her employers locked her in a room to eat.
Ekaterina Porras Sivolobova, founder and director of Do Bold, said: “For each and every woman we interviewed, this is a crisis that particularly affects their physical condition and well-being. This raises the question of what you want to do to solve this problem. “. »
Oman’s government responded to a request for comment.