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.

While the injuries of those who came to us for help were not as serious as that of Erwiana, the victims were none the less battered and bruised by the inhumane treatment they received and will forever be scarred both emotionally and physically. Quite what the perpetrators of these abuses were thinking as they unleashed such fury on the women who have been cooking their meals, looking after their children and elderly, and managing their household while they go about their business of pursuing economic betterment or enjoying the fruits thereof is beyond the average people’s comprehension.

via Stefan Irvine

via Stefan Irvine

So how do we solve a problem like Erwiana?

As many will agree, the problems of domestic workers lie not just with abusive employers and exploitative employment agencies but also with the inadequacy and lacklustre enforcement of laws to protect them, as well as administrative policies that restrict rather than guarantee their rights.

Take for instance the live-in requirement which makes them more vulnerable to abuse, and the New Conditions of Stay (also known as the “two-week-rule”) which requires them to leave Hong Kong within 14 days following their termination. While they are permitted to apply for extension of stay if they are engaged in litigation, they cannot take up employment until their cases are resolved. With no means to support themselves they are unlikely to pursue claims of unpaid dues or criminal complaints.

Exploitation by recruitment agencies is widespread. While the Employment Agencies Regulations limit the amount of commission that recruiters may receive from job applicants to 10% of their first month’s wages, those that comply with this regulation are an exception. Various modi operandi are being employed by unscrupulous agencies to extort money from desperate domestic workers often in collusion with rogue lending companies by disguising the fees as personal loans. To collect payments, the agencies often resort to threats and intimidation, but are rarely prosecuted.

Our track record has not gone unnoticed. The Trafficking in Persons Report put together each year by the US State Department rates countries’ efforts in combating human trafficking. The 2013 report, downgrades Hong Kong to Tier 2 and we are at risk of being further downgraded, partly due to our failure to enact laws that criminalise labour trafficking.

In response to the furore brought about by Erwiana’s case, the Labour Department announced a plan to educate domestic workers on their rights. What struck me was that there was no mention of educating employers on respecting the rights of their domestic worker. This you might say need not be taught, or should we say, could not be taught. How do you tinker with people’s character?

I say we need to transform the current mindset that puts foreign domestic workers beneath everyone else in Hong Kong.

We can have changes in laws and policies and call for tighter regulation of employment agencies. But until people like Erwiana’s employers realise that just because domestic workers have less economic fortune than they do, they are no less human, and are deserving of as much respect and dignity as everyone else in Hong Kong, there will be more Kartikas and Erwianas in the future.

The Labour Department has better come up with more creative ideas, and soon, if Hong Kong is to salvage its reputation and cling to its self-given title of Asia’s world city.

Donate to, or volunteer for, Helpers for Domestic Helpers here.

Visit our Action Centre or write to Police Commissioner Andy Tsang Wai-hung to respond to his comments:

  • Contact the Commissioner of Police. Email Mr Tsang Wai-hung, Andy at cp@police.gov.hk, telephone 2860-2001 or fax for free via Outfax at 2865-6546. Or write to FAO Mr Tsang Wai-Hung, The Commissioner of Police, 14/F, Arsenal House, Police Headquarters, 1 Arsenal Street, Wan Chai, Hong Kong.

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Last month, HK Helpers Campaign legal advisor Rob Connelley told a government panel at LegCo that the two-week rule should be scrapped…

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While the injuries of those who came to us for help were not as serious as that of Erwiana, the victims were none the less battered and bruised by the inhumane treatment they received and will forever be scarred both emotionally and physically. Quite what the perpetrators of these abuses were thinking as they unleashed such fury on the women who have been cooking their meals, looking after their children and elderly, and managing their household while they go about their business of pursuing economic betterment or enjoying the fruits thereof is beyond the average people’s comprehension.

via Stefan Irvine

via Stefan Irvine

So how do we solve a problem like Erwiana?

As many will agree, the problems of domestic workers lie not just with abusive employers and exploitative employment agencies but also with the inadequacy and lacklustre enforcement of laws to protect them, as well as administrative policies that restrict rather than guarantee their rights.

Take for instance the live-in requirement which makes them more vulnerable to abuse, and the New Conditions of Stay (also known as the “two-week-rule”) which requires them to leave Hong Kong within 14 days following their termination. While they are permitted to apply for extension of stay if they are engaged in litigation, they cannot take up employment until their cases are resolved. With no means to support themselves they are unlikely to pursue claims of unpaid dues or criminal complaints.

Exploitation by recruitment agencies is widespread. While the Employment Agencies Regulations limit the amount of commission that recruiters may receive from job applicants to 10% of their first month’s wages, those that comply with this regulation are an exception. Various modi operandi are being employed by unscrupulous agencies to extort money from desperate domestic workers often in collusion with rogue lending companies by disguising the fees as personal loans. To collect payments, the agencies often resort to threats and intimidation, but are rarely prosecuted.

Our track record has not gone unnoticed. The Trafficking in Persons Report put together each year by the US State Department rates countries’ efforts in combating human trafficking. The 2013 report, downgrades Hong Kong to Tier 2 and we are at risk of being further downgraded, partly due to our failure to enact laws that criminalise labour trafficking.

In response to the furore brought about by Erwiana’s case, the Labour Department announced a plan to educate domestic workers on their rights. What struck me was that there was no mention of educating employers on respecting the rights of their domestic worker. This you might say need not be taught, or should we say, could not be taught. How do you tinker with people’s character?

I say we need to transform the current mindset that puts foreign domestic workers beneath everyone else in Hong Kong.

We can have changes in laws and policies and call for tighter regulation of employment agencies. But until people like Erwiana’s employers realise that just because domestic workers have less economic fortune than they do, they are no less human, and are deserving of as much respect and dignity as everyone else in Hong Kong, there will be more Kartikas and Erwianas in the future.

The Labour Department has better come up with more creative ideas, and soon, if Hong Kong is to salvage its reputation and cling to its self-given title of Asia’s world city.

Donate to, or volunteer for, Helpers for Domestic Helpers here.

Visit our Action Centre or write to Police Commissioner Andy Tsang Wai-hung to respond to his comments:

  • Contact the Commissioner of Police. Email Mr Tsang Wai-hung, Andy at cp@police.gov.hk, telephone 2860-2001 or fax for free via Outfax at 2865-6546. Or write to FAO Mr Tsang Wai-Hung, The Commissioner of Police, 14/F, Arsenal House, Police Headquarters, 1 Arsenal Street, Wan Chai, Hong Kong.

divider.png (250×50)

Last month, HK Helpers Campaign legal advisor Rob Connelley told a government panel at LegCo that the two-week rule should be scrapped…

Stay tuned – on Sunday evening, HK Helpers Campaign will live-tweet the Justice for Erwiana Committee meeting.

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