The Importance of National Human Trafficking Awareness Day

Human trafficking at its simplest definition is the recruitment or transportation of a person by force, deception or coercion, for the purpose of exploitation. 

Although thought of as less common in modern times, instances of human trafficking, especially including domestic workers, occurs frequently on an international scale. 

11th January marks National Human Trafficking Awareness Day in the US and many other nations around the world, a day chosen to highlight that although often out of sight, human trafficking is still occurring, and needs tackled by a global effort. 

For domestic workers, human trafficking can occur if someone uses force, fraud, or coercion to maintain control over the worker and causes them to believe that he or she has no other choice but to continue with the work. Examples of this can include verbal, physical and mental abuse, restrictions on their movements or restrictions on external communications or debt bondage. 

An industry largely composed of women, many trafficked domestic workers may have been given false promises of employment, only to find themselves in exploitative working conditions where their passport has been taken away, and they are unable to leave. From there they may be threatened and forced to work long hours for little or often no payment at all. 

Traditionally, human trafficking of domestic workers can be more difficult to detect, as many are within private residences. In many countries, the labour rights of domestic workers are poorly regulated, allowing for trafficking or coercion to occur. 

Thankfully in the UAE, there are a selection of strong federal labour laws and regulations that protect the rights and safety of domestic workers being recruited to the country (Federal Decree-Law No.9 of 2022 Concerning Domestic Workers.)

These include everything from prohibiting forced labour to ensuring a worker gets enough sleep and rest. It also decrees that workers are entitled to keep their own personal documents and be paid a monthly salary through the Wages Protection Service, among many other things. 

Housekeeping Domestics Workers Services not only abides by and enforces these regulations and requirements but goes further to ensure each domestic worker understands their rights and is protected in our care. 

As mentioned earlier, human trafficking can occur more easily if workers lack information about their rights or are isolated. 

Recruited ethically to the UAE with no placement fee, training fee or salary deduction, each of our full-time maids, nannies, housekeepers and other workers are given full training on their rights, duties and responsibilities and who to contact in an emergency, including the company 24/7 helpline. 

The safety of domestic workers is of paramount importance to Housekeeping Co, with our ongoing mission being to offer fair hiring, support families in their effective engagement and relationship management, and to train and upskill every foreign domestic worker in becoming the best of what they can do. 

Expert in securing safe corridors for migrant domestic workers, the company offers domestic workers ongoing training and development. Many sponsoring families also rely on Housekeeping Co to navigate their way ethically in recruitment and management of their worker, again part of the company's efforts to combat this global issue. 

Positively changing the lives of foreign domestic workers by offering transparency of placement and employment contract, Housekeeping Co are passionate about continuing best practices and doing our part to address and spread awareness of human trafficking worldwide. 

Housekeeping Co is a one-stop centre for domestic workers in the UAE and was recently the winner of the 1st Emirates Labour Market Award (Domestic Workers Recruitment Agencies Subcategory.)

Providing ethical domestic worker recruitment, visa services and full-time live-in maids and nannies in Dubai, you can find more on our services via our website.