<<previous | index | next>> III. Abuse and Exploitation of Child DomesticsI left home when I was fifteen. I was told by an agent that I would be sent to Malaysia, but was placed in another house in Tanjung Pinang [Indonesia]. I woke up at 4:15 a.m. I swept the floor, dusted, bathed the children, and sent one child to school. That child was thirteen years old. I then cooked food for the family. There were four people in the house: husband, wife, and two children. I then did some gardening. I was exhausted when I went to sleep at 10:00 p.m. I also had to take water from the well. That was tiring. I only had five minutes rest. I did not get any day off. I did not get any salary. I worked there five months. The employer gave me two pants, three underwear and bras, and two t-shirts. Child domestic workers are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation because they are hidden from public view and government oversight as they work inside an employers home. These invisible workers are excluded from the national labor law of Indonesia and do not have legal rights and benefitssuch as minimum wage, rest, vacation, and limits on hours of workafforded to workers in the formal sector. Girls typically start working as domestic workers below the legal age of employment; work long hours, including during the night, seven days a week, without any day off; receive little or no pay; are restricted from contacting their family; and, in some cases, are physically, psychologically, and sexually abused. Deception in RecruitmentChildren are typically recruited by employers, friends, relatives, and labor agents from rural areas or poor urban areas to work as domestic workers in large cities. Recruiters regularly deceive the children with false promises of higher wages in cities, the chance to attend school in the city while working, and limited job responsibilities. Labor agents in Jakarta explained how they recruit prospective child domestic workers. An official at a domestic worker supplier agency said that girls placed by the agency are paid between Rp.250,000 and 300,000 (U.S.$27.77-33.33) per month and work fourteen hours a day.56 But labor agents at the same agency told us that they promised wages of up to Rp.400,000 (U.S.$44.44) to prospective child domestic workers in the villages they visit. When I visit the village, I tell parents that the salary in Jakarta is Rp.350,000 to 400,000 [U.S.$38.88-44.44]. I dont tell them about hours of work, but I tell them they may do house work or babysitting, said Tarsiyah, a labor agent.57 Similarly, another labor agent told Human Rights Watch, I go to the village and ask parents whether they want their daughter to work in Jakartathey will be paid good salary. I tell them that the work is housework or babysitting. I dont tell them the hours of work or vacation. I tell them the salary is Rp.400,000 [U.S.$44.44].58 Zubeida, age sixteen, was recruited by the same labor agency and was initially told her salary would be Rp.350,000 (U.S.$38.88), but at the time she was placed with an employer she was told her salary would be Rp.250,000 (U.S.$27.77). In the end, Zubeida was paid only Rp. 100,000 (U.S$11.11) by her employer.59 Rohani, who began working when she was fourteen, explained: An agent came to my house and offered me a babysitting job. He promised me Rp.400,000 [U.S.$44.44] a month. He did not tell me the work hours. I was taken to Semarang by the agent. I was told that if I was not happy at work, I would have to find my own way home and pay for my own transportation.60 But when Rohani arrived at the house, she was told by the employer that she would be paid only one-tenth of what the agent had promisedRp.40,000 (U.S.$4.44).61 Some children are also recruited on the premise that the employer will send the child to school in return for the childs domestic service. Hasana, who began working when she was twelve, told Human Rights Watch that her employer promised her that she would be sent to school if she worked for him as a domestic worker. She recalled, I was very happy at first. . . . My employer kept promising me that he would send me to school, but he never didhe lied.62 Girls recruited by labor agents may be forced to pay additional fees for transport or other expenses to the agents, sometimes ending up in debt before they start working. A labor agent told Human Rights Watch, I pay for the girls food, but they pay me for transport about Rp.40,000 [U.S.$4.44]. If girls cannot pay when I take them, then they pay me when they start working.63 We were told that the girls are held at the labor agency until they are hired.64 AgeThe minimum age for employment in Indonesia is fifteen; however, many girls start to work when they are several years younger. The domestics Human Rights Watch interviewed began working between the ages of eleven and sixteen. For instance, Atin told us, I started working as a domestic when I was eleven. My family could not afford to pay for school fees any more, so I dropped out in primary school.65 In Indonesia, primary school begins for children at age seven and runs for six years. After primary school, at age twelve or thirteen, children continue lower secondary school for three years, and upper secondary for another three years. NGOs working with child domestics told us that girls typically become domestic workers after completing primary school, around age twelve or thirteen. Others, the NGOs said, drop out during lower secondary school or after finishing lower secondary school at age fifteen.66 The lawyer for an association of domestic worker supplier agencies in Jakarta told Human Rights Watch that girls fifteen and over are recruited for domestic work.67 He further explained that a Jakarta government regulation requires children aged fifteen to eighteen to have a letter from their parents permitting them to work, but the government does not monitor whether agencies have reviewed such permission letters.68 A labor agent told us that the agency does not examine birth certificates to confirm the age of a prospective child domestic worker.69 Without official documentation, the agency lawyer noted, the agency has no way to confirm the age of a girl.70 Human Rights Watch observed girls at the agency who looked much younger than fifteen; however, when asked their age, they all said fifteen. The associations lawyer told us that the association is trying to push for a local regulation requiring workers to have a letter from the village head with a stamp and photograph, so that the agency can verify the age.71 Other domestic workers supplier agencies, however, believe they will have difficulties in placing girls as domestic workers if there are stricter rules on age requirements, the association official explained.72 He continued, They [domestic worker supplier agencies] never think about the workersthey worship the employers. They dont care[if] the employer doesnt give the child worker foodthey dont care.73 Local NGOs working with child domestics, through an ILO-IPEC program in the greater Jakarta area, identified children under the age of fifteen, and as young as eleven, working as domestics. In 2003 the NGOs were able to negotiate with employers the return of twenty-four of these underage children back to their families. (See section VI below on ILO-IPECs program on child domestic workers). The ILO Minimum Age Convention, ratified by Indonesia, provides that the minimum age for admission to employment shall not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling and, in any case, shall not be less than 15 years.74 The convention further states that national laws may also permit the employment or work of persons who are at least 15 years of age but have not yet completed their compulsory schooling; provided the work is not likely to be harmful to their health or development, and does not prejudice their attendance at school or participation in vocational training programs.75 Moreover, for such children, the convention requires states to determine activities in which employment is permitted and [to] prescribe the number of hours during which and the conditions in which such employment or work may be undertaken.76 Indonesian law in general conforms to the terms of the Minimum Age Convention by setting the minimum age for employment for non-hazardous work at fifteen.77 However, as noted above and found by Human Rights Watch below, the law is not usually enforced. Moreover, it fails to prescribe the number of hours of work for children over fifteen who have not completed compulsory education, so as to allow them to continue with their education. Work Load, Hours of Work, and RestNo one wants to be a domestic, but due to financial reasons some have no choice. But this does not mean that employers should take advantage of us. We are human too. The child domestics Human Rights Watch interviewed typically worked fourteen to eighteen hours a day. These children worked seven days a week, with no holiday, although some were allowed an annual one-week leave at Eid-ul-Fitr. Human Rights Watch also interviewed five children who were allowed to visit their families more than just for Eid holidays, such as once in six months or once a month. The girls we interviewed were typically required to clean the house, launder the entire households clothes by hand, iron the clothes, prepare the familys meals, and take care of the employers children. All of the children Human Rights Watch interviewed lived with their employers, and none had a written contract specifying wages, types of work, rest, or vacation. Rather, we learned that oral agreements regarding wages, hours of work, and tasks were fluidchanging based on the whim of the employer. Dewi, who began working when she was sixteen, explained, My employer was from the same village and he asked me to work for his family in Jakarta. I was told that I would be babysitting. When I got to Jakarta I initially began taking care of the three-month-old baby. But then I was told to clean the house, wash dishes, wash the clothes, and cook food. I didnt like my employerthey never let me go out or allowed me to take rest during the day.78 Dewi began crying during the interview, she said, I did not know that I had to do everything. I was their slave told to do whatever and whenever they wanted.79 Nearly every domestic worker Human Rights Watch spoke with told us that they cared for their employers children, in addition to other duties. For example, Kartika began domestic service when she was fourteen. She described her nineteen-hour workday: There were four adults and three children aged five, three, and two. I woke up at 4:00 a.m. . . . cooked, cleaned, washed clothes, and swept the floor. When the children would wake up, I would bathe the children. After bathing them, I would sing a lullaby so the baby would sleep. When the baby was asleep, I helped the grandmother to bathe because she was too old. I then finished cooking and took care of the children. When the parents came home from the office, the children would be with them. I would then iron the clothes and get dinner ready. I would go to sleep by 11:00 p.m. I had no day off. I worked 7 days a week .80 Titin had a similar workday: I woke up at 5:00 a.m. I washed clothes, cooked food for the husband, wife, and their three children. I cleaned the house. I also took care of the children. I would go to sleep at 9:00 p.m. The work was tiring and there was a lot of work to take care of the children. The baby would wake up in the middle of the night, so I had to wake up and feed the baby and change her diaper. I was always tired. I was only twelve then. I had no day off.81 Domestic workers sometimes also help with their employers small businesses. Vina, who began working when she was thirteen, described her long workday: I helped sell noodles in the street and did housework. I would start selling noodles at 5:30 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. After that I would shop for groceries and then return home to prepare noodles to sell the next day. I cooked more than five kilos of noodles a day. After that I would wash clothes. I was paid Rp.200,000 [U.S.$22.22] per month. I was exhausted and had no time to rest. I would go to sleep at 12:00 a.m.82 Most child domestic workers said that they had no time to rest, but some said they were able to take a one-hour break during the workday. In describing her seventeen-hour workday, Ria recalled, I would often get tired, but I was able to rest for an hour when the child was resting. 83 Young children may not be suited to the tasks they are asked to perform because they lack the necessary experience or because they lack the strength and endurance for such tasks. When Kartika was fourteen she said she worked nineteen hours a day. She told us, The two-year-old child would sometimes hit me. I was tired and he kept hitting me so I hit him back. I did not know what to do.84 An ILO-IPEC study on child domestic workers in Indonesia concluded that child domestics perform the same amount of work as adult domestic workers, which tends to surpass their physical capacity and stamina.85 The ILO-IPEC study noted that working long hours with no time for rest and recreation, or for socializing with peers affects a childs mental, physical, social, and intellectual development.86 Under the Indonesian labor code, workers employed in the formal sector may only work seven hours a day and forty hours a week in a six-day work week or eight hours a day and forty hours a week in a five-day work week.87 Workers in the formal sector have the right to at least half an hour of rest after working four hours consecutively; one day of rest after six workdays a week, or two days after five workdays a week; and, at minimum, a yearly period of rest of twelve workdays, if they have worked for twelve months consecutively.88 The explanatory comments accompanying the work hour provisions of the law acknowledges that [e]mploying workers beyond normal working hours must be avoided because workers/laborers must have enough time to take a rest and recover their fitness.89 But those who work in the informal sectors, such as domestic workers, are completely excluded from such protections of the law. In other words, employers of domestic workers are not legally obligated to limit the workday, provide breaks during the day, or give weekly or annual holidays. The Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees children the right to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be . . . harmful to the childs health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.90 Moreover, state parties to the convention are obligated to regulate the hours and conditions of employment and to ensure that children have adequate time for rest, leisure, and play.91 Notably, the Indonesian Child Protection Act promises every child the right to rest and enjoy free time, to mix with other children of his/her own age, to play, enjoy recreation.92 Indonesia must amend its labor laws to ensure that all working children, including those in the informal sector, between the ages of fifteen and eighteen have reasonable hours of work, adequate time for rest, leisure, and, as explained below, education during the workday. Unpaid WagesAs discussed above, recruiters of domestic workers admitted that they lure girls to work in domestic service on the premise that they will receive good wages. Human Rights Watch interviewed girls who were cheated out of their full salary or received no salary. Some employers refuse to pay domestic workers on a monthly basis as a way to prevent them from leaving the employment. These employers withhold wages until it is time for the child to visit her home for Eid-ul-Fitr holidays. Titin, who began working at age twelve, told Human Rights Watch, My employer did not pay me every month, but told me that she would pay me at Eid. When I went home for Eid she told me that she would pay me when I come back.93 Titin did not return because the work was too tiring.94 Titin told us she worked seventeen hours a day. Lili, whose testimony is excerpted at the start of this report, suffered a similar fate when her employer withheld her wages on the condition that she return after her holiday. Lili did not go back and in the end only received Rp.150,000 (U.S.$16.66) for working for over one year. Suppliers of domestic workers confirmed that employers withhold money to ensure that the girls remain in the employment. A labor agent told us, Employers dont give salary to domestic workers because they are afraid that the child will run away.95 According to a domestic worker supplier agencys lawyer, The commitment is U.S.$25 [per month], but they only pay U.S.$10half they [the employer] keep so she wont run.96 Ira, who was fifteen when she started working as a domestic, said that when she told her employer that she wanted to leave, her employer stopped paying her wages: When I told her that I wanted to stop working, the female employer said, No, [you] cannot leave. Before that she paid me every month and then when I told her that I would leave, she stopped paying me. After that, she made me clean the bathroom two to three times a day, even when it was clean. She watched me clean the bathroom and made me scrub the walls. My hands would get tired and would dry out from being in the water too much.97 Ira was forced to work another six months before she finally left.98 Similarly, Lastri, fifteen, told us that she felt trapped because her employer would not pay her monthly salary of Rp.250,000 (U.S.$27.77) and was prevented from contacting her family. She recalled, I told my employer that I wanted to go home, but she forbade me. I told her that I wanted to resign. The employer got angry at me. She had my money and would not pay me if I left.99 Lastri told us that she escaped when her employers were not home. Withholding salary prevents children from leaving even abusive conditions because they have no means to find their way home. For instance, sixteen-year-old Asma, as discussed above, who was recruited from Medan and taken far from her home to Tanjung Pinang on Bintan Island near Singapore, had no choice but to continue working long hours without pay and suffer physical and psychological abuse because she had no money. She told us that she finally fled with only Rp.20,000 (U.S.$2.22), which was not enough money to travel home, so she found a job at a bakery. But there too she was at her employers mercy who decided whether to pay her at all: I helped bake cookies and did housework. I washed and ironed clothes and cleaned the house. There were five people in the house. I was supposed to be paid Rp.300,000 (U.S.$33.33). . . . I worked three months, but was not paid. The employer said that he would save my money, but I never saw it. The employer wanted to run a catering business, but he thought I was too young so he gave me to his relative. There I did housekeeping and babysitting. I missed my family. I had not seen them in one-anda-half years. I wanted to go home. I was depressed. I worked there for two months. The employer said that he would send me home. I had no money so he paid [for my] transport . . . so I could go home.100 Wage ExploitationDomestic workers are almost always grossly underpaid for the long hours they are required to work. The girls whom we interviewed earned between Rp.196-286 (U.S.$0.02-0.05) an hour, compared to workers in the formal sector who are entitled to between Rp.2,076-3,876 (U.S.$0.23-0.43) an hour, depending on the minimum wage laws in the city in which they work. Although Indonesian labor law ostensibly guarantees the right of every worker/laborer . . . to earn a living that is decent from the viewpoint of humanity, in practice, minimum wage laws in Indonesia are applicable only to those in the industrial and commercial sectors.101 Moreover, the law prohibits only entrepreneursemployers in the formal sectorand not all employers from paying wages lower than the minimum wage.102 Domestic workers are paid well below the minimum wage, in some cases as little as one-tenth or even one-twentieth the prevailing minimum when wages are computed on an hourly basis. (See Table 1). The wages of domestic employees we interviewed varied among households, and appeared to depend on whether the worker was a child or an adult and the city in which she worked. The majority of child domestic workers we interviewed told us that in 2003-2004, they earned between Rp.100,000-300,000 (U.S.$11-32) a month for working fourteen to eighteen (sometimes more than twenty) hours a day, seven days a week. We met one twenty-nine-year-old domestic worker in Surabaya who was placed by a labor agent and earned Rp.650,000 (U.S.$72.22) a month.103 The following examples are representative of the accounts we heard:
Table 1: Comparison of Wages of Formal Sector Workers with Child Domestic Workers108
Most child domestic workers told us that they did not know if their salary was deducted for food and lodging. Ira, who began working at age fifteen, was an exception. She recalled, I was told that I would be paid Rp.250,000 [U.S.$27.77], but [was] paid only Rp.50,000[U.S.$5.55]. She [the employer] told me that the money was deducted to pay for bathing accessories and food. I was not told that before I started working. But I had no choice. I needed the money.110 Not only was Iras salary far below the minimum wage in Bekasi, but the deduction amounted to 75 percent of her salary. An official from an employers association told us that he believed that minimum wage laws should not apply to domestic workers because employers provide them with food and lodging.111 We heard other employers similarly state that because domestic workers are provided with food and accommodation employers should not pay them a minimum wage.112 Deductions for food and lodging can only reasonably be considered in the context of decent wages and work conditions; here, however, the provision of food and lodging (often inadequate) is being used as a fig leaf for labor exploitation. The exclusion of domestic workers from the nations labor law has a serious discriminatory impact against women and girls who predominantly perform such work and denies them equal protection of the law. International human rights standards provide that everyone is entitled to just and favorable conditions of work, remuneration, rest, leisure, reasonable limitations on working hours, periodic holidays, the right to equal pay for equal work, and the right to form and join trade unions. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women obligates state parties, such as Indonesia, to ensure the right to equal remuneration [between men and women], including benefits, and to equal treatment in respect of work of equal value.113 Finally, Indonesia as a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child is obligated to ensure that all the rights enumerated in the convention, including the right to be free from economic exploitation, are applied equally to all children irrespective of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status.114 Living ConditionsLive-in domestic workers rely on the good will of their employers to provide them adequate and humane living accommodations, as well as sufficient and quality food. Human Rights Watch interviewed girls who described their living quarters as small, window-less storage rooms. Some girls told us that they slept on the floor in the childrens rooms. All of the child domestics we interviewed said they were provided food by their employer, although the freshness and quantity of food varied. Some girls told us that they were given only one meal a day and remained hungry, while others said that they were given stale and left-over food. Some girls ate the same food as the family.
Staff of an Indonesian NGO working with child domestics described a case they documented in 2003 in which the child domestic worker, who worked for her uncle, was not given enough food to eat. After cooking the meal for the family, the NGO staff said, the employer would lock the food in the cupboard and give the child only a single portion of rice or a packet of instant noodles for the day.119 Restrictions on Movement and Family ContactIn one year that I worked there, I saw my family once when my father visited me. I had no friends. I would get depresseddomestic work is isolating. You cannot go out without the permission of your employerits like they control everything you do. Child domestic workers are often separated from their families for long periods of time and prohibited from visiting or telephoning them by their employers. Some girls told us that they were locked in the house by their employers and were not allowed to interact with children their own age or to have friends. Their social isolation leaves them especially vulnerable to abuse and prevents them from seeking help. Hasana, who was twelve when she began working, remembered, I had no day off. Even though my parents were twenty kilometers away I was not allowed to visit them. I felt like I was in a jail. I was not allowed to go out. I had no friends. My family could not visit me. I felt hopeless.120 A former domestic workers family member we spoke to confirmed that he was unable to contact his nieceLastriwho had left home to work as a domestic. Lastris family was worried about her because she had not contacted them in two months. When he called Lastri on the telephone, Sumar told us that he was wrongly informed by the employer that Lastri had left the job.121 Similarly Arti, fourteen, said her employer restricted her contact with her family: I had to ask permission to do anything. . . . I never went out alone. I had to go out with the employer. The employer didnt allow me to leave the house alone. Once I visited my family for a half a day. I arrived at 12:00 p.m. and returned to Medan at 4:00 p.m. My family didnt visit me. I called home once because there was some illness. I used the telephone when the employer was away from the house. If my employer was there, I was not allowed to make a call.122 Some girls told us that they were locked in their employers homes from the outside. Merpati, who was fifteen when she worked for an employer who locked her indoors recalled, The employer forbade me from going out of the house or contacting my family. She would lock the door from the outside. She said that I would be protected if the door was locked. At first I felt okay, but then I felt confined. I was home all day and never went outside.123 An NGO worker told Human Rights Watch of a case they documented in 2004 in which the child was locked indoors by her employers. The employers left town and locked the child worker in, we were told.124 When asked why employers restrict their domestic workers movement, the NGO staff explained that employers are afraid that their workers will complain about mistreatment or will seek employment with better working conditions.125 The ILO-IPEC study on child domestic workers in Indonesia similarly concluded that employers restrict child domestics movement because they are afraid that the workers will report the employers mistreatment or will seek better employment opportunities.126 Girls told Human Rights Watch that isolation from their family and children their age made them feel depressed.
A nineteen-year-old domestic worker who had been working with the same employer since she was fifteen told Human Rights Watch that she was allowed to visit her family once a month for two days.130 Restricting child domestic workers from meeting their parents or leaving their workplaces prevents them from seeking help and renders them vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Employers argue that restricting a child domestic workers freedom of movement is necessary to ensure the childs security. The ILO-IPEC study on child domestic workers in Indonesia noted that employers restrict their domestic workers social interactions because they are afraid that child domestic workers will mix with the wrong crowd, will report about their employers mistreatment, and seek better employment.131 Notably, ILO-IPEC found that a higher percentage of child domestic workers were unable to communicate with their family compared to adult domestic workers.132 This finding reinforces the inferior bargaining position of child domestic workers with their employers and how employers use the guise of protection to control children. The United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) notes, [a] sense of being enslaved is reinforced where the child [domestic worker] is not allowed to leave the house. In Asia, this is common, although imposed in the name of girls personal security. . . . Loss of freedom is the ultimate human rights abuse.133 Isolating child domestics from their parents negatively affects a childs self-esteem and sense of identity, and inhibits normal childhood development.134 For instance, Anti-Slavery International notes that an employer rarely assumes a parental role other than in a disciplinary way, and fails to encourage the child, or guide the child to develop personally.135 According to Bharati Pflug, the author of the background report on child domestic workers at the 2002 ILO meeting on Action to Combat Child Domestic Labor, the isolation of child domestics from their peers and family, when compounded by verbal, physical abuse and harassment can at times result in personality disorders.136 The Convention on the Rights of the Child affirms a childs right to be in regular and direct contact with her parents on a regular basis and prohibits arbitrary interference with a childs family.137 Occupational Injuries and Access to Health CareLive-in child domestic workers separation from their families, compounded by grossly inadequate salaries, leaves them dependent upon their employers for medical care. Some employers, however, take little or no responsibility for their domestic workers health and may force them to work while sick or injured. A child domestic worker in Yogyakarta had a typical experience. Dewi, then sixteen, described how her employer forced her to work even though she had a fever. She recalled crying and asked to be taken to the doctor, but her employer refused. Finally, she told us, the employer gave her over-the-counter medicine for the fever. 138
Some employers do not take injuries suffered by their domestic workers seriously and fail to provide adequate medical treatment, leaving the girls without access to proper treatment. For instance, some girls told us that while ironing and cooking they would sometimes burn their skin. Vina told us, When I was cooking, the oil splashed on my left arm. The female employer gave me toothpaste to apply. She said that it will work. It became red and a blister developed. The toothpaste hurt when I used it. She said that I dont need to see a doctor.141 Arti showed Human Rights Watch two scars on her cheeksone on each cheek about the size of a watermelon seed, she told us, When I would boil oil, it would often splash and burn me. I put toothpaste on the burns. The employer saw it . . . I showed it to her, but she didnt do anything.142 Human Rights Watch also interviewed two seventeen-year-old domestic workers who said that their current employers treated them well. For instance, they told us that when they were sick, their respective employers allowed them to rest, took them to the doctor, and provided them with over-the-counter medication. The costs for the doctors visit and medicine were not deducted from their salary, they told us.143 The ILO-IPEC study on child domestic workers found that child domestics while working often suffer from burns from hot oil, hot water, and irons; cuts from sharp objects; and electrical shocks.144 The study also found that the demands of their work led child domestic workers to suffer from insomnia, loss of appetite, panic, fear, and stress.145 Such reactions, the study concluded, are not healthy for the mental development of children.146 The Convention on the Rights of the Child protects the rights of a child to the highest attainable standard of health and access to health care, and the right to a standard of living adequate for the childs mental, spiritual, moral, and social development.147 Sexual, Physical, and Psychological AbuseMore than half of the girls Human Rights Watch interviewed suffered some form of sexual, physical, or psychological abuse. Domestic workers, especially those who live on the premises where they work, are highly vulnerable to physical violence and sexual abuse. Under ILOs Worst Form of Child Labor Recommendation, any work that exposes children to physical, psychological or sexual abuse falls under the international prohibition on hazardous or harmful child labor.148 Sexual Abuse and HarassmentDomestic workers are extremely vulnerable to sexual assault and abuse because they are hidden from public scrutiny and thus are less able to seek help or have others intervene on their behalf. Moreover, live-in domestic workers may not have safe living quarters with a lock on the door, leaving them without protection. Dian began working for her cousin when she was thirteen years old. Her salary, 1 million rupiah (U.S.$111.11) a year, was paid directly to her mother. She told us: We lived in a very small house. The husband slept in the warung [restaurant] and I slept with the female employer. It happened three months after I started working. One day, the husband was sick so the female employer went to the store to get medication. It was 4:00 a.m. and I was still sleeping. He came into the room. I was forced to have sex with him. He threatened me. He said he would hit me if I told anyone. He told me that he would throw me out and my mother would get no money. He would come to me three times a week whenever his wife was not home. This happened for three years. I was scared, but I wanted to support my mother. I had no choice. I wrote my experience in my diary and one day the wife found the diary. She was angry at me and called me a whore. The husband and wife quarreled. The wife shouted at me. She thought I was a flirt, a provocateur. I was desperate. I did not know what to do. The next day I was thrown out.149 For some employers, there is an assumption that sexual availability is an inherent aspect of being a domestic worker. Suriyah, who at the time of the incident was fourteen, was harassed by her employers son. She told us, When I was washing clothes, the employers son touched my bottom. I got angry and said, Please dont treat me like that. He laughed and said, You are only a domestic. Why should you be so clean and pure? I was very upset. I left that job.150 Similarly, Vina recalled that when she was fourteen, her employer would say dirty things, calling her a cunt, and repeatedly invited her for a walk and [to] rent a room.151 Children told us that they were sexually assaulted and inappropriately touched by male employers or male visitors of their employers.
When child domestic workers do protest sexual abuse, they risk losing their jobs and incomes. Vina told us that when she was fourteen, she was assaulted by her employer. She recalled, I woke up and saw the male employer stroking mehe stroked my arm and then touched my breasts. I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. I wanted to report to the female employer, but then she would throw me out. I tried to avoid the man. 155 Indonesian NGOs working with child domestic workers in Jakarta, Medan, Semarang, and Surabaya told Human Rights Watch of similar cases in which male employers inappropriately touched, hugged, squeezed, and asked domestic workers to massage them when the female employer was not at home.156 An NGO in Jakarta told us of a case in 2004 in which the male employer of a fifteen-year-old domestic worker asked her to fetch a towel while he stood naked in front of her. Another time, he entered her room, touched her breasts, and tried to kiss her.157 According to an NGO in Surabaya, which specifically works with women who are sexually abused, Sexual abuse against domestic workers is common. This work is hidden and makes [the] girls vulnerable. They are at the mercy of their employers and have nowhere to go.158 International law obligates Indonesia to protect domestic workers from gender-based violence and to protect girls in hidden work situations where they are particularly at risk. The Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention obligates member states such as Indonesia to implement programs of action to eliminate as a priority the worst forms of child labor, including, the special situation of girls.159 The Worst Forms of Child Labor Recommendation in particular urges states to give special attention to the problem of hidden work situations, in which girls are at special risk.160 The Convention on the Rights of the Child obligates state parties to protect children from sexual abuse.161 Physical AbuseHuman Rights Watch spoke with girls who told us that their employers had physically abused them. Several told us that their employers had slapped them on the face or kicked them. One child told us that her employer doused her with a corrosive chemical. Many reported that their employers hit them when they made a mistake and did not take them to the doctor for their injuries. For example:
Fifteen-year-old Putri told us that her employer became angry at her because she was unable to remove the dirt trapped amongst the bathroom tiles. The employer, Putri said, poured a cleanser containing hydrochloric acid on her right hand and arm, resulting in discoloration of the skin, burns, and permanent scarring.164 A Human Rights Watch researcher observed scarring under the knuckles of her right hand and skin discoloration on the inside of Putris arm. Putri told us: The employer hired a new domestic worker and asked me to teach her to clean the bathroom. When I was cleaning the bathroom, I could not remove the dirtit could not be washed away. The employer got angry and poured [the cleanser] on my right hand and arm and my existing skin condition [dry skin due to excessive exposure to water] became inflamed. The skin peeled off and it was bleeding. I covered it with a handkerchief. I was given no medication. It took three months for my skin to recover.165 One labor agent acknowledged that girls are sometimes beaten, but suggested that the girls themselves are at fault. I recruited Zubeida, she told us, the girl that was beaten. Zubeida is not smart. When she does not work well, she gets beaten. I once called the employer, but the employer told me she was not home. She lied because Zubeida has nowhere to go. The labor agent continued, I dont trust employers. I tell the agency to find good employers for the girls. But there is no guarantee that the employer will treat the girl well. Girls may never tell us if they are abused because they need the money.166 Local newspapers have reported violence against child domestics ranging from severe beatings resulting in hospitalization to rape and murder. A survey of only a handful of papers over the past two years uncovered the following reports:
Psychological AbuseChild domestic workers told Human Rights Watch that they were frequently taunted and insulted by their employers if they made mistakes. Such insults increase the pressure on the child domestic working long hours and under heavy workloads. As noted above in the section on living conditions, some child domestics we interviewed were given less food than members of their employers families, and often food of inferior quality. Taunts, insults, and poor quality food can be forms of psychological abuse, which highlight the employers domination and control over domestic workers and reinforce a domestic workers low status in the household. Human Rights Watch spoke with girls who suffered taunts, insults, and verbal abuse.
Fourteen-year-old Wardina told us how she used to work part-time and still attend school. But when her parents were unable to pay her school fees, her employer agreed to pay school expenses in exchange for Wardina becoming a live-in domestic worker. She said: The employer treats me differently now. When I make a mistake she shouts at me. One day she hit my head. She calls me stupid. . . I dont know why she does that. I am upset. I cry at night. The employers daughter also shouts at me. . . . It is impossible for me to leave because the employer paid for the school fees. I have to work there. But I dont understand why she is not nice to me. Due to the bad treatment I cannot concentrate at school.180 [56] Human Rights Watch interview with Sugito, Asosiasi Pengelola Pramuwisma Seluruh Indonesia, domestic worker supplier agency, Jakarta, November 30, 2004. [57] Human Rights Watch interview with Tarsiyah, labor agent, Jakarta, November 30, 2004. [58] Human Rights Watch interview with Abud, labor agent, Jakarta, November 30, 2004. [59] Human Rights Watch interview with Zubeida, Jakarta, November 30, 2004. [60] Human Rights Watch interview with Rohani, Semarang, December 6, 2004. [61] Ibid. [62] Human Rights Watch interview with Hasana, Yogyakarta, December 4, 2004. [63] Human Rights Watch interview with Tarsiyah, labor agent, Jakarta, November 30, 2004. [64] Human Rights Watch interview with Sugito, Asosiasi Pengelola Pramuwisma Seluruh Indonesia, domestic worker supplier agency, Jakarta, November 30, 2004. [65] Human Rights Watch interview with Atin, Yogyakarta, December 1, 2004. See section IV on child labor and education. [66] Human Rights Watch interview with Rumpun Gema Perempuan, Jakarta, November 30, 2004; Human Rights Watch interview with Lita Angraeni, Rumpun Tjoet Njak Dien, Yogyakarta, December 2, 2004; Human Rights Watch interview with Octoviana, Pndokan Yayasan Pondol Rakyat Kreatif (YPRK), Medan, December 13, 2004. [67] Human Rights Watch interview with Ramahadas Fro Marss, lawyer at Asosiasi Pengelola Pramuwisma Seluruh Indonesia, domestic worker supplier agency, Jakarta, November 30, 2004. [68] Ibid. [69] Human Rights Watch interview with Sugito, Asosiasi Pengelola Pramuwisma Seluruh Indonesia, domestic worker supplier agency, Jakarta, November 30, 2004. Indonesian law requires that all children in Indonesia be registered at birth free of charge. Act of the Republic of Indonesia, Law No. 23/2002 on Child Protection (Child Protection Act), October 22, 2002, art. 10. [70] Human Rights Watch interview with Ramahadas Fro Marss, lawyer at Asosiasi Pengelola Pramuwisma Seluruh Indonesia, domestic worker supplier agency, Jakarta, November 30, 2004. [71] Ibid. [72] Ibid. [73] Ibid. [74] ILO Convention No. 138 concerning the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment, adopted June 26, 1973, 1015 U.N.T.S. 297 (entered into force June 19, 1976, ratified by Indonesia on June 7, 1999), art. 2(3). An exception to the minimum age of fifteen is made only for a state whose economy and educational facilities are insufficiently developed, which may initially specify a minimum age of 14 years. Ibid., art. 2(4). Indonesia set the minimum age of employment at fifteen. [75] Ibid., art. 7(1-2). [76] Ibid., art. 7(3). ILO Recommendation 146 concerning the Minimum Age for Employment instructs that, for children above the minimum age of employment and who have not completed compulsory education, governments should ensure that these children: receive fair remuneration bearing in mind equal pay for equal work; have strict limits on hours of daily and weekly work, including a prohibition on overtime to enable adequate time for education and training (including time for homework), rest during the day, and for leisure activities; a minimum consecutive period of twelve hours a night for rest and weekly rest days; annual holiday with pay for at least four weeks, not shorter than that granted to adults; coverage by social security schemes, including workplace injury, medical care, and sickness benefit schemes, whatever the conditions of employment or work may be; and the maintenance of satisfactory safety and health standards. ILO Recommendation concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment, ILO No. 146, June 26, 1973, para. 13(1). [77] Law No. 20/1999 on the Ratification on Convention No. 138 Concerning the Minimum Age of Admission to Employment; Decree of the Minister of Labor and Transmigration, Number: KEP.235/MEN/2003, Regarding Types of Work that are Hazardous to the Health, Safety or Moral of Children (Ministerial Decree), October 31, 2003, arts. 2-3. [78] Human Rights Watch interview with Dewi, Yogyakarta, December 3, 2004. [79] Ibid. [80] Human Rights Watch interview with Kartika, Yogyakarta, December 3, 2004. [81] Human Rights Watch interview with Titin, Semarang, December 6, 2004. [82] Human Rights Watch interview with Vina, Medan, December 15, 2004. [83] Human Rights Watch interview with Ria, Yogyakarta, December 2, 2004. [84] Human Rights Watch interview with Kartika, Yogyakarta, December 2, 2004. [85] IPEC, Flowers on the Rock, pp. 70-71. [86] Ibid. [87] Act of the Republic of Indonesia, Law No. 13/2003 Concerning Manpower (Manpower Act), March 25, 2003, art. 77. English translation available at the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration website, [online] http://www.nakertrans.go.id/ENGLISHVERSION/regulation.php [retrieved February 15, 2005]. The law allows for overtime work of a maximum of three hours a day up to fourteen hours a week; provided the worker agrees and is paid overtime wages. Ibid., art. 78. [88] Ibid., art. 79. [89] Ibid., Explanatory Comments to article 78. [90] Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 32(1). [91] Ibid., arts. 31-32. [92] Child Protection Act, art. 11. [93] Human Rights Watch interview with Titin, Semarang, December 6, 2004. [94] Ibid. [95] Human Rights Watch interview with Tarsiyah, labor agent, Jakarta, November 30, 2004. [96] Human Rights Watch interview with Ramahadas Fro Marss, lawyer at Asosiasi Pengelola Pramuwisma Seluruh Indonesia, domestic worker supplier agency, Jakarta, November 30, 2004. [97] Human Rights Watch interview with Ira, Bekasi, December 18, 2004. [98] Ibid. [99] Human Rights Watch interview with Lastri, Yogyakarta, December 2, 2004. [100] Human Rights Watch interview with Asma, Medan, December 13, 2004. [101] Manpower Act, art. 88. Minimum wages are determined at the provincial or district/city level or provincial or district/city based sectoral level. Ibid., art. 89(1). Sector-based minimum wages are established for business groups by sector and must not be lower than the regional minimum wages applicable in the area. Ibid., Explanatory Notes to article 89(1)(b). [102] Ibid., art. 90. The Manpower Act defines an entrepreneur as an individual, a partnership or legal entity that operates a self-owned enterprise . . . [or] a non-self-owned enterprise. In contrast, an employer is defined as an individual, entrepreneur, legal entities, or other entity that employ manpower by paying them wages or other forms of remuneration. Ibid., art. 1(4-5). [103] Human Rights Watch interview with Salma, Surabaya, December 8, 2004. [104] Human Rights Watch interview with Zubeida, Jakarta, November 30, 2004. [105] Human Rights Watch interview with Arti, Medan, December 13, 2004. [106] Human Rights Watch interview with Sarita, Semarang, December 6, 2004. [107] Human Rights Watch interview with Ria, Yogyakarta, December 3, 2004. [108] According to the Manpower Act, workers in the formal sector can work either forty hours a week for six days or forty hours a week for five days. Manpower Act, art. 77. The calculations for workers in the formal sector were based on forty hours a week for six days. Ria and Sarita told us that they each could rest for an hour during the workday. Accordingly, rest hours were not considered in calculating their daily hours per week. [109] Hasil Pemantauan Penetapan UMP dan UMK Tahun 2004, cited in Peraturan Pelaksanaan Undang-Undang Ketenagakerjaan UMP-UMK Tahun 2004 (Jakarta: 2004), pp. 86-87. [110] Human Rights Watch interview with Ira, Bekasi, December 18, 2004. The minimum wage in Bekasi in 2004 was Rp. 670,000. Bekasi Wants Higher Minimum Wage, Jakarta Post, December 10, 2004. [111] Human Rights Watch interview with Harjono, The Employers Association of Indonesia (APINDO), Jakarta, December 21, 2004. APINDO focuses on employee-employers relations in the industrial sector. However, Mr. Harjono, represented APINDO, at the ILO-Japan-Korea Asia Meeting on Action to Combat Child Domestic Labor in Chiang Mai, Thailand, October 2-4, 2002. [112] Human Rights Watch also attended a seminar on domestic workers in Yogyakarta on December 4, 2004, where a member of the audience, an employer of a domestic worker, expressed similar concerns. [113] Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, adopted December 18, 1979, 1249 U.N.T.S. 13 (entered into force September 3, 1981, ratified by Indonesia on September 13, 1984), art. 11(d). [114] Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 2. [115] Human Rights Watch interview with Lastri, Yogyakarta, December 2, 2004. [116] Human Rights Watch interview with Kartika, Yogyakarta, December 2, 2004. [117] Human Rights Watch interview with Rohani, Semarang, December 6, 2004. [118] Human Rights Watch interview with Vina, Medan, December 15, 2004. [119] Human Rights Watch interview with Yayasan Kesejahteraan Anak Indonesia (YKAI), Jakarta, December 18, 2004. [120] Human Rights Watch interview with Hasana, Yogyakarta, December 4, 2004. [121] Human Rights Watch interview with Sumar, Yogyakarta, December 1, 2004. [122] Human Rights Watch interview with Arti, Medan, December 13, 2004. [123] Human Rights Watch interview with Merpati, Pamulang, December 18, 2004. [124] Human Rights Watch interview with Yayasan Kesejahteraan Anak Indonesia (YKAI), Jakarta, December 18, 2004. [125] Human Rights Watch interview with Rumpun Gema Perempuan, Jakarta, November 30, 2004; Human Rights Watch interview with Yayasan Kesejahteraan Anak Indonesia (YKAI), Jakarta, November 30, 2004. [126] ILO-IPEC, Flowers on the Rock, pp. 74-75. [127] Human Rights Watch interview with Atin, Yogyakarta, December 1, 2004. [128] Human Rights Watch interview with Dita, Yogyakarta, December 2, 2004. [129] Human Rights Watch interview with Vina, Medan, December 15, 2004. [130] Human Rights Watch interview with Tuti, Yogyakarta, December 2, 2004. [131] ILO-IPEC, Flowers on the Rock, p. 75. [133] UNICEF, Child Domestic Work, Innocenti Digest (Florence: UNICEF, 1999), p. 6. [134] Maggie Black, Child Domestic Workers: A Handbook for Research and Advocacy (London: Anti-Slavery International, 1997) (discussing the impact of employment on a child domestics physical, intellectual, and psycho-social development), p. 14. [135] Ibid. [136] Bharati Pflug, An Overview of Child Domestic Workers in Asia, ILO-Japan-Korea Asia Meeting on Action to Combat Child Domestic Labor, October 2-4, 2002, Chiang Mai, Thailand (Bangkok: ILO-IPEC, 2003), p. 26. [137] Convention on the Rights of the Child, arts. 9 and 16. [138] Human Rights Watch interview with Dewi, Yogyakarta, December 3, 2004. [139] Human Rights Watch interview with Vina, Medan, December 15, 2004. [140] Human Rights Watch interview with Arti, Medan, December 13, 2004. [141] Human Rights Watch interview with Vina, Medan, December 15, 2004. [142] Human Rights Watch interview with Arti, Medan, December 13, 2004. [143] Human Rights Watch interview with Lina and Narti, Semarang, December 6, 2004. [144] ILO-IPEC, Flowers on the Rock, pp. 109-110. [145] Ibid., p. 112. [146] Ibid. [147] Convention on the Rights of the Child, arts. 24 and 27. [148] Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention, art. 3(d); Worst Forms of Child Labor Recommendation, para. 3(a). [149] Human Rights Watch interview with Dian, Medan, December 14, 2004. [150] Human Rights Watch interview with Suriyah, Pamulang, December 18, 2004. [151] Human Rights Watch interview with Vina, Medan, December 15, 2004. [152] Human Rights Watch interview with Hasana, Yogyakarta, December 4, 2004. [153] Human Rights Watch interview with Salma, Surabaya, December 9, 2004. [154] Human Rights Watch interview with Vina, Medan, December 15, 2004. [155] Human Rights Watch interview with Vina, Medan, December 15, 2004. [156] Human Rights Watch interview with Rumpun Gema Perempuan, Jakarta, November 30, 2004; Human Rights Watch interview with Kelompok Perempuan Pro Demokrasi (KPPD), Surabaya, December 8, 2004; Human Rights Watch interview with PERISAI, Semarang, December 6, 2004. [157] Human Rights Watch interview with Yayasan Kesejahteraan Anak Indonesia (YKAI), Jakarta, December 18, 2004. [158] Human Rights Watch interview with Kelompok Perempuan Pro Demokrasi (KPPD), Surabaya, December 8, 2004. [159] Worst Form of Child Labor Convention, arts. 6-7(2)(e). [160] Worst Forms of Child Labor Recommendation, para. 2(c). [161] Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 34. [162] Human Rights Watch interview with Zubeida, Jakarta, November 30, 2004. [163] Human Rights Watch interview with Asma, Medan, December 13, 2004. [164] Human Rights Watch interview with Putri, Pamulang, December 18, 2004. [165] Ibid. [166] Human Rights Watch interview with labor agent, Tarsiyah, Jakarta, November 30, 2004. [167] Pembantu Tewas Dibantai Anak Majikan, Kalam Republika, December 6, 2004. [168] PRT Indramayi Akhirnya Meninggal, Pikiran Rakyat, October 13, 2004. [169] Pembantu Lumpuh Dianiaya Majikannya, Kompas, August 30, 2004. [170] Dibantu Istro, Majikan Perkosa Pembantu, Media Indonesia, July 12, 2004. [171] Selma Setahun Sri Maryanti Dianiaya Disekap Majikan, Kompas, March 16, 2004. [172] Seorang PRT Mulyati Tewas DisiksaMajikannya, Kalam Republica, January 12, 2004. [173] Sari, Nasibmu Kok Seperti Tersangka, Kompas, September 11, 2003. [174] Pembantu Disiram, Disetrika, dan Dipukuli, Pikriam Rakyat, July 22, 2003. [175] Monita Pun Masuk Sek, Pos Lota, February 6, 2003. [176] Human Rights Watch interview with Dewi, Yogyakarta, December 3, 2004. [177] Human Rights Watch interview with Titin, Semarang, December 6, 2004. [178] Human Rights Watch interview with Ria, Yogyakarta, December 3, 2004. [179] Human Rights Watch interview with Lastri, Yogyakarta, December 2, 2004. [180] Human Rights Watch interview with Wardina, Bekasi, December 18, 2004.
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