Victimization of foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the forms and experiences of victimization of foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) in Hong Kong, the effects of victimization on FDHs and FDHs’ coping strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
The main findings are based on semi-structured interviews with a sample of 12 FDHs in Hong Kong.
Findings
The findings uncovered a continuum of violence ranging from relatively mundane abuses on an everyday basis to acute events at the time of termination. Some respondents also experienced secondary victimization from police and/or pending criminal justice proceedings after contract termination.
Research limitations/implications
Victimization exerted significant adverse physical and psychological effects on FDHs in our study. Nevertheless, contrary to common assumptions about FDHs as passive victims, our findings suggest that some FDHs experienced a degree of empowerment, as they found ways to cope with their difficulties by individualized and social strategies depending on the degree of victimization and the resources available.
Originality/value
The findings suggest there is an urgent need to review the existing laws and policies that, at best, are ineffective and, at worst, create far more problems than they solve.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully thank Professor Maggy Lee, Department of Sociology at The University of Hong Kong, for her guidance in their research and in producing this paper. They also thank the interviewee who participated in the pilot interview; the two NGO staff respondents, the 12 FDH respondents as well as the two NGO gatekeepers, without whose generous help and eager participation, the study could not have been accomplished.
Citation
Wong, H.K.Q., Chan, E., Chan, T.M.C., Li, Y. and Wan, M.K.H. (2016), "Victimization of foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong", Social Transformations in Chinese Societies, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 63-76. https://doi.org/10.1108/STICS-05-2016-007
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited