Tougher punishment sought for those who abuse their maids
Tougher punishment sought for those who abuse their maids
Zuraidah Ibrahim, Strait Times, Asia News Network, Singapore
The inventory of injuries read like something from a torture
manual.
Indonesian maid Muawanatul Chasanah, as most readers know by
now, wasted away from 50 kg to 36 kg in the span of 16 months.
Littered all over her figure were 200 scars, sores, cuts and
burns, the result of repeated whipping, kicking, punching, and
burning with cigarette butts and scalding with hot water.
Her body finally said enough when her employer Ng Hua Chye
fisted her on the face and chest and kicked her on the back. She
died, the latest victim of maid abuse to come before the courts.
The rest of us were shocked, outraged and horrified that
fellow Singaporeans are capable of descending to such depths of
depravity.
But hang on. Did we not feel the same way a few months ago
when we found out about the sick ways of one Jennicia Chow Yen
Ping? She bit her maid's breasts so hard that one nipple later
fell off.
It is clear by now that measures to protect the 140,000
foreign maids who work here are still inadequate.
After the government stiffened the penalties in 1998, the
number of substantiated maid-abuse cases has dropped from the
high of 157 in 1997 to 41 last year.
That is still an average of one case every nine days. Who
knows how many more cases go unreported?
The most promising solution may be to have third parties check
on the health and welfare of maids.
It has been suggested in this newspaper that civil-society
groups should play a part. Indeed, it is hardly acceptable that
even animals have the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals to champion their rights, while maids have no dedicated
non-government organization devoted to them.
Another group that should play a role is the medical
profession. The law already requires all maids to go for six-
monthly medical check-ups.
Presumably, these are to check for disease and pregnancy. A
Forum page letter on Wednesday from two doctors made the
excellent suggestion that the physicians should also examine the
maids for signs of abuse.
Indeed, one has to wonder how the doctor who saw Muawanatul
missed the signs.
Then there is the argument that the government should set up a
special agency to look after maids' welfare. A system of
government inspectors and social workers would certainly help
reduce abuse.
The hefty levy collected by the government each month as a
means of dampening demand for maids could surely meet the cost of
such a system.
Let me suggest another idea, which would not cost the public a
cent. Why not make it mandatory for maid agencies to check on the
well-being of the maids they have brought here?
Require the agent to conduct monthly visits to the employer's
home, at least for the first six months of the contract. Make the
agent interview the maid and file a monthly declaration with the
Manpower Ministry that she is all right.
If it subsequently emerges that the maid has been abused over
a prolonged period, hold the agent at least partly accountable.
Fine the agency, or close it down.
It makes sense for agents to bear some of the responsibility
for the maids' welfare. After all, part of the reason maids
tolerate abuse in silence is the financial debt they owe to the
agents. To make any money at all from their big move to
Singapore, they have to work for at least six months to a year.
Until then, they live in fear of not being able to pay the
agent's fee.
Agencies may protest that they should not be held accountable
for victimization at the hands of employers. Well, agents who do
not consider the safety of their maids to be their No 1 priority
should not be in this business. Is it unreasonable to expect
agents to keep tabs on the well-being of the vulnerable
individuals they have placed in employers' homes?
If agents are forced to, they will be entrepreneurial and
ingenious enough to find effective ways to do it. The solution
may be as simple as making it very clear to maids at the outset
what their rights are, that the moment something goes wrong, they
must phone their agent immediately, and that they will not be
penalized for complaining.
The maids need to know that there is a third party on their
side, should their employers turn out to be monsters. It may be
too intimidating to approach the police. Maids are more likely to
turn to their agents -- if those agents make it clear that the
maids' welfare is their top priority.
And if legislation is needed to ensure that the agents get
their priorities right, then let's use it. Consumer watchdog Case
is implementing voluntary accreditation for maid agencies. It
will become compulsory in two years. I say, speed it up. And make
proper monitoring of maids' welfare a condition of accreditation.
If some agencies cannot meet these conditions and remain in
business, so be it. If the result is a massive shortfall in the
supply of maids, so be it. It may be just what Singapore needs to
wean itself off its unnatural dependence on live-in domestic
help.
Little has been done to upgrade the quality of the domestic-
maid industry. Most agencies do not prepare maids adequately for
the different world they are about to enter. Many of the
Indonesians, in particular, are too young, know no English, and
have had no exposure to a modern home.
Compared with a decade ago, the situation appears to be
getting worse, not better: With an increasing levy, agents have
looked for cheaper sources of maids, and found them in poor
villages in the region.
Meanwhile, domestic life has become more stressful and fast-
paced, and fewer Singaporeans than before know enough Malay to
communicate effectively with their maids.
Instead of trying to assure quality and a good fit, most
agencies simply offer a trade-in opportunity: You can exchange
the maid for another.
Clearly, punishing the abusive employers who are caught has
not succeeded in deterring others from committing the same, or
worse, crimes.
Singapore needs a system to ensure that abuse cases are
uncovered promptly. And the system needs to be so watertight that
abusive employers know that they cannot hide their victims away.
Agents can be part of the solution.
When employers know that their maids are being monitored, they
will be more likely to control their bestial urges; and even if
abuse occurs, it will at least be cut short, and not dragged on
to a deadly end.