Exported and Exposed

Abuses against Sri Lankan Domestic Workers in

I. Summary

Key Recommendations

II. Background

Status of Women and Girls in Sri Lanka..

"Push Factors" and Sri Lankan Women's Decisions to Migrate for Work

Sri Lankan Women's Labor Migration to the Middle East

III. Abuses of Prospective Women Migrants in Sri Lanka

Regulatory Framework in Sri Lanka and the Recruitment Process

Recruitment Fee System and Debt Payments

Deception and Lack of Information in Recruitment and Trafficking..

Pre-Departure Medical Testing and Coerced Contraception..

IV. Abuses in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates

Unpaid and Underpaid Wages

Wage Exploitation..

Physical and Psychological Abuse..

Sexual Abuse..

Heavy Workload and Excessively Long Work Hours without Rest

Food Deprivation and Inadequate Living Conditions

Confiscation of Passports, Forced Confinement, and Restricted Communication

Prohibitions on Returning Home..

Forced Labor

Exploitative Practices by Labor Agents in the Countries of Employment

V. Protection Failures and Obstacles to Effective Redress

Government Obligations under International Human Rights Law...

Bilateral Labor Agreements

Response of the Sri Lankan Government

Pre-Departure Protection Failures

Licensing and Regulation of Labor Recruiters and their Subagents

Training

Proposed Migration Ban

Sri Lankan Consular Services in Countries of Employment101

Inadequate Complaint Mechanisms and Victim Services upon Return to Sri Lanka107

Response of the Countries of Employment: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates112

Exclusion from Labor Laws112

Immigration Regulations115

Obstacles to Investigation and Prosecution of Reported Abuses118

VI. Conclusion and Recommendations121

VII. Acknowledgments130