In December 2020, the Lebanese Parliament passed the landmark Law 205 against sexual harassment that could see perpetrators spend up to four years in prison and pay fines up to fifty times the minimum wage. The law additionally affords protection to both the victims and any witnesses who testify against the accused. While the law was applauded as a step forward for sexual harassment victims, it excludes an important faction of the community – migrant domestic workers. The law falls short of international standards by addressing sexual harassment solely as a crime and neglecting to complement this law with labor law reforms, monitoring, and civil remedies. This research focuses on the various forms of sexual violence either protected or enabled under the Kafala system. It aims to depict the incessant violations this type of system has produced. This large-scale research with interviews of almost a thousand migrant domestic workers in Lebanon serves as an unprecedented, direct look into the intimate experiences of these women, and serves as an output that demystifies sexual harassment both inside and outside professional settings.
An article by Garrett Brown MPH, CIH Corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs began in the early 1990s with the promise of eliminating dangerous and illegal “sweatshops” in the global supply chains of world-renown corporations selling ...Read More
In one-to-one interviews and focus groups, female migrant workers in Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain recounted their experiences with violence in the workplace and how they navigated formal and informal grievance mechanisms. Through their insights, we ai...Read More
This edition of the Index highlights how fragile hard-won human rights still are throughout the world, and how in times of crisis — be it the COVID-19 pandemic, the growing climate crisis, or ongoing armed conflict — it is the world’s most vul...Read More
Modern slavery in all of its guises – such as human trafficking, forced labour, sexual exploitation and organ trafficking – is endemic in many countries. It often preys on society’s most vulnerable people, stripping them of their rights to fre...Read More
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