Daily Archives: April 4, 2014


ARTICLE – As Erwiana Visits HK, How Do We Prevent Torture Occurring Again?

vph3qyV.png (209×266)Holly Carlos Allan is the manager of Helpers for Domestic Helpers, an excellent non-profit that provides free advice and assistance to domestic workers. As Erwiana is due to visit the city next week for a medical report, Holly discusses the recent abuse cases and what needs to change.

I don’t know about you, but I find the comment of police commissioner Andy Tsang Wai-hung that the annual average of 30-40 cases of wounding and serious assault of domestic workers means they are “very rare”, quite chilling. One case is one too many, forty should be alarming.

The two recent cases of seriously abused Indonesian domestic workers, Kartika Puspitasari and Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, raised questions as to how many similar instances have gone unreported. While I believe that most employers in Hong Kong are reasonable, as someone who works for an organisation that provides advice and assistance to domestic workers, I can tell you that the tragedy of Kartika and Erwiana are by no means isolated cases.

One should also ask whether Erwiana would have had a chance at seeking justice if her case was not reported by the media and did not receive International coverage. Numerous such cases dealt with by my organisation have languished in obscurity as the victims decided to abandon their complaints due to police indifference and because they could not afford to stay in Hong Kong without a job as their cases drag on.Holly Carlos Allan is the manager of Helpers for Domestic Helpers, an excellent non-profit that provides free advice and assistance to domestic workers. As Erwiana is due to visit the city next week for a medical report, Holly discusses the recent abuse cases and what needs to change.

I don’t know about you, but I find the comment of police commissioner Andy Tsang Wai-hung that the annual average of 30-40 cases of wounding and serious assault of domestic workers means they are “very rare”, quite chilling. One case is one too many, forty should be alarming.

The two recent cases of seriously abused Indonesian domestic workers, Kartika Puspitasari and Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, raised questions as to how many similar instances have gone unreported. While I believe that most employers in Hong Kong are reasonable, as someone who works for an organisation that provides advice and assistance to domestic workers, I can tell you that the tragedy of Kartika and Erwiana are by no means isolated cases.

One should also ask whether Erwiana would have had a chance at seeking justice if her case was not reported by the media and did not receive International coverage. Numerous such cases dealt with by my organisation have languished in obscurity as the victims decided to abandon their complaints due to police indifference and because they could not afford to stay in Hong Kong without a job as their cases drag on.