Identifying some forms of violence towards female domestic workers in Ho Chi Minh city nowadays

Through International Labour Organization’s indicators of forced labour, author identifies some forms of violence towards female domestic workers in Ho Chi Minh City nowadays. There are different types of domestic work, but within the scope of research paper, the author will focus on two main groups of female domestic workers, i.e. domestic workers in private households and patient caretakers. They represent two different working environments, but have one thing in common, which is the higher frequency of contact with their employers compared to the other groups. The main method used in this study was qualitative research and the data were collected via semi-structured interviews with a snowball sample. Nineteen female domestic workers were invited to join in the interview with their voluntary participation. The results show that there are some differences in the forms of violence and forced labor between the two groups, especially, the group of patient caretakers undergoing more experiences of sexual violence and abuse than the other. On the contrary, the group of domestic workers in private households suffer from discrimination on the grounds of food, as well as accommodation, economic exploitation and travel restrictions more regularly. Moreover, a poor working environment and long working hours which are also becoming more and more common in hospitals in the present have a bad influence on patient caretakers’ health.

HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC “PHÁT TRIỂN XÃ HỘI HỌC CÔNG Ở VIỆT NAM” IDENTIFYING SOME FORMS OF VIOLENCE TOWARDS FEMALE DOMESTIC WORKERS IN HO CHI MINH CITY NOWADAYS Cao Thanh Tam, M.A Faculty of Sociology University of Social sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City (USSH, VNU-HCMC) Email: caothanhtam@hcmussh.edu.vn Abstract: Through International Labour Organization’s indicators of forced labour, author identifies some forms of violence towards female domestic workers in Ho Chi Minh City nowadays There are different types of domestic work, but within the scope of research paper, the author will focus on two main groups of female domestic workers, i.e domestic workers in private households and patient caretakers They represent two different working environments, but have one thing in common, which is the higher frequency of contact with their employers compared to the other groups The main method used in this study was qualitative research and the data were collected via semi-structured interviews with a snowball sample Nineteen female domestic workers were invited to join in the interview with their voluntary participation The results show that there are some differences in the forms of violence and forced labor between the two groups, especially, the group of patient caretakers undergoing more experiences of sexual violence and abuse than the other On the contrary, the group of domestic workers in private households suffer from discrimination on the grounds of food, as well as accommodation, economic exploitation and travel restrictions more regularly Moreover, a poor working environment and long working hours which are also becoming more and more common in hospitals in the present have a bad influence on patient caretakers’ health Key words: violence, forced labour, female domestic workers, Ho Chi Minh City Introduction Undergone rapid industrialization, modernization, and globalization, Vietnam has embraced many radical changes in terms of economics, politics, and society One of such changes is the increase of rural urban migration and emigration The destination of migrant flows are usually big cities where it is easier for labour to find jobs, especially unskilled jobs One of the most attractive destination nowadays in Vietnam is Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) Thanks to its advantageous geographical location and socioeconomic stability, HCMC is one of the fastest growing economy in the Southern Key Economic Region of Vietnam and Vietnam itself Therefore, it is understandable that HCMC has the highest number of migrants, immigration speed, and migration rate (Cu, 2014) Migrants are mostly unskilled workers, who have no or little professional training, and consist of both males and 164 HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC “PHÁT TRIỂN XÃ HỘI HỌC CÔNG Ở VIỆT NAM” females Migration flows have introduced many changes in the division of labour and gender dynamic in the workforce In addition, feminism movements has further liberated women from house chores and let them go out to work This led to the change of women‟s role in the house; women are gaining more voice in the house as their contribution to the family's income is becoming more prominent With both the husband and wife have to go out to work, house chores are now transferred to a third party – domestic workers Hiring a domestic worker is a good choice if the wife‟s earning is higher than the cost to hire a domestic worker to the house chores In the last two decades, with the growth of economy and increase of social stability, quality of life has also improved and everyone, including women, needs more time for entertainment, working, and social works These conditions facilitated the demand for and rise of domestic worker jobs Ratified on June 16, 2011, the very first Domestic Workers Convention has recognized domestic workers as workers with the same rights as other workers In Vietnam, some still doubted if domestic work was a real occupation However, this doubt ended with the introduction of Decree NO 27/2014/NĐ-CP that regulates a number of articles of the Labour Code concerning Domestic Servants Taking effect on May 25, 2014, the Decree states that domestic workers and their employers must sign a contract and comply to the rights, obligations, and responsibilities regulated by Vietnam Labour Code (Lam, 2014) Domestic work is a job dominated by women with 98.7% of domestic workers are women They are often illiterate because the majority of them came from rural areas or grew up in poverty Some of them are old women who are unmarried, divorced, or widowed Thus, it is hard for them to find a stable job other than domestic work Furthermore, their working environments are usually limited in the employers‟ houses, thus, domestic workers tend to be treated with little respect Consequently, domestic workers are likely to be physically or verbally abused, exploited, or sexually harassed In some cases, they cannot anything when the employers refuse or fail to fulfill their contractual obligations about workload, working time, wage, or other benefits such as social insurance and health insurance (Oxfam & GFCD, 2013) In 2012, Ba Dinh District People's Court in Hanoi sentenced an employer to 18 months in prison for severe violence against her domestic worker (Quyet, 2012) Concerned with such reality, this research is to investigate the domestic violence towards domestic workers and identify its forms to have a better understanding of domestic violence towards workers in general, and come up with suggestions for policy makers to protect human rights better This research also aims to broaden current knowledge of domestic workers Theoretical Background and Methodology Many researchers all over the world have addressed violence towards domestic workers in their research In Vietnam, the first decree guiding a number of articles of the Code of Labor in relation to domestic workers has only been issued in 2014 Earlier researches in Vietnam mainly focused on the aspects of finance, skill training, contract terms and conditions, 165 HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC “PHÁT TRIỂN XÃ HỘI HỌC CÔNG Ở VIỆT NAM” adaptation of domestic workers to social changes, or relationship between the two parties: the domestic worker and the employer Regarding violence towards domestic workers in Vietnam, there have been a few researches conducted by international organization (Oxfam & GFCD, 2013) In this research, the author will use the indicators of forced labour introduced by International Labour Organization (ILO) to identify and analyze the forms of violence towards female domestic workers in order to extend further current knowledge of violence towards workers in general and domestic workers in particular From theoretical and practical experience, ILO has introduced 11 indicators of forced labour which are: (1) Abuse of vulnerability, (2) Deception, (3) Restriction of movement, (4) Isolation, (5) Physical and sexual violence, (6) Intimidation and threats, (7) Retention of identity documents, (8) Withholding of wages, (9) Debt bondage, (10) Abusive working and living conditions, and (11) Excessive overtime In certain situation, a forced labour case may be deduced from the presence of a single indicator in a given situation However, more than one indicator may be needed before we can identify a forced labour case This research will use the following termologies: (1) domestic workers, (2) violence, (3) forced labour The tem “domestic worker” follows the definition provided in the Decree No 27/2014/ND-CP promulgated by the Government of Vietnam According the decree, domestic workers are workers who regularly carries out domestic work, which is not related to commercial activities, for one or more than one households Domestic workers may live or not live with the employer‟s family and perform regular household tasks which “recur after a certain period of time (hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly)” (The Government of Vietnam, 2014), In Vietnamese dictionary, Phe (2003) defined violence as “an act of cruel abuse” and abuse as “using force to subdue, repress, or overthrow someone.” In its World report on violence and health, World Health Organization (WHO) defined violence as: The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation (WHO, 2002) The term “forced labour” is used by ILO to refer to “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily” (ILO, 1930) This paper uses data collected from the research “Violence towards Female Domestic Workers in Ho Chi Minh City Nowadays” carried out by the author from December 2014 to June 2017 in Ho Chi Minh City Focusing on two groups of female domestic workers, housemaids and patient caretakers, and the research was based on the assumption that frequency and intensity of interaction between the domestic workers and employers may affect the violence towards the workers In total, 19 female domestic workers participated in the study and consented to the interview This research employs qualitative data collection 166 HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC “PHÁT TRIỂN XÃ HỘI HỌC CÔNG Ở VIỆT NAM” methods Qualitative data was collected via semi-structured in-depth interviews with snowball sampling technique Research ethics and confidentiality of research participants were prioritized; therefore, all participants had given consent to the interview and known that they would be recorded In order to triangulate the data, recording tapes were later sent to two researchers to investigate independently in the analysis process Finally, the author used the criteria and framework of indicators of forced labour proposed by ILO to filter data and interpret results Results and Discussion 2.1 Sample Descriptions In regards to their jobs, the research concentrates on two groups of domestic workers, housemaids (10 cases) and patient caretakers (9 cases) All 19 cases have been victims of violence at work but none intends to change jobs; some of the patient caretakers were waiting for new clients Their age is quite high, ranging from 36 to 66, with the average age of 51 Most of them have little to no education Majority of them dropped out after middle school except for two participants who have a bachelor degree About marital status, most of them had troubles with marriages and were divorced, separated, widowed, or unmarried Being single, they did not have to worry about family obligations and could focus on their jobs Patient caretakers often have to stay in the hospitals around the clock whereas old female domestic workers live with the employer‟s family, which helps them save money As a key economic region of Southern Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City attracts many migrant workers from neighboring areas in South-Eastern Region and South-Western Region Thus, the number of migrant workers from the two regions in HCMC is higher than from other regions Before becoming a domestic worker, most of the participants were farmers or street vendors Because of crop failure, low sales, or bankruptcy, they had to turn to domestic work as a way to earn a living Domestic workers not usually have a fixed workplace; caretakers have to follow the patients Where caretakers and housemaids live are not the same Housemaids usually live with the employer‟s family whereas caretakers have to live in the hospital to take care of the patients Between jobs, some caretakers remain in the hospital to look for new clients while others go home or back to their agency if they work for one According to the caretakers, these caretaker agencies are operated by an individual or group and recruit unemployed women for caregiving jobs Most agencies house their employees, usually in company-owned dormitories, and provide basic training on bathing and washing a patient, identifying symptoms, time to take medication, etc Most trainee have to follow trained caretakers to observe for two to three weeks before they can work on their own It is a common practice for the agencies to charge caretakers for an agent fee, which ranges from 700,000 VND (about 30 USD) to 1,500, VND (about 60 USD) per job depending on the agency On average, if the worker receives 300,000 VND (about 13.6 USD) a day, she has to give the agency 50,000 VND (about 2.3 USD) It can also be seem from the sample that the most housemaids found their job via recruitment agencies or 167 HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC “PHÁT TRIỂN XÃ HỘI HỌC CÔNG Ở VIỆT NAM” acquaintance's referral Average monthly salaries of housemaids is four to five million VND while caretakers usually receive daily wages of 250 to 400 thousands VND depending on the medical condition of the patients In some cases, caretakers are paid weekly or monthly (7.5 to million VND a month) 2.2 Forms of violence towards female domestic workers The First Form: Abuse of vulnerability Demand for domestic workers is high and diverse so people from any background can become a domestic worker However, it is noticeable that most domestic workers are migrants with little education They became domestic workers because they were not qualified for other jobs and had low income Aware of the domestic workers‟ vulnerability, many employers intentionally equivocated about the terms and payment when offering the job The participant in the interview number 10 is an example She became a spinster because she had to took care of her family her entire youth The husband of the employer is one of her distant relatives She used to be a farmer and carpet weaver in her hometown but low income forced her to migrant to the city and become a housemaid “At first, I thought they were relatives so I did not ask for a contract or negociate the salary So they paid me as they pleased – 200 thousand VND a month Can you believe that? Not to mention that I am their great-grandaunt His great- grandfather was my youngest brother and I am the oldest child When I came here, I thought they would pay me the same as the former housemaids so I let them decide my salary It took a few years, about or years, for my salary to be increased by 50 thousands VND more” (Interview 10, housemaid) The Second Form: Deception Many employers try to retain domestic workers with promises of pay raise, gift, or monetary bonus Four among the 19 participant were deceived or even scammed According to the housemaids who were hired to take care of newborn babies, employers often promise them money of gifts as contract completion bonus to keep them working but always fail to deliver their promises when the contract ends Since there are no evidence of verbal promises, the domestic workers cannot anything Some domestic workers who found jobs via agencies were also deceived Participant was once deceived by a migrant worker agency that failed to give her the type of work they promised before sending her abroad That was a fraud job agency It is only a private company, not a governmentfunded organization as advertised They said that after signing the contract, they would send me oversea to domestic chores for a family of three or four people However, when I arrived, the employer gave me a six-day-old infant I had to take care of the infant around-the-clock I could only sleep two hours a day (Interview 02, housemaid) 168 HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC “PHÁT TRIỂN XÃ HỘI HỌC CÔNG Ở VIỆT NAM” When it is hard to find domestic workers who agrees to certain jobs, the employers tend to avoid mentioning or give the worker or job agency obscure descriptions of the job It is usually too late for the domestic workers to back out when they learn the truth The Third Form: Restriction of movement According to the research, the majority of domestic workers try to avoid leaving the work place because they not want to upset the employers Sometimes caretakers have to stay with the patients around the clock If the domestic workers is religious and need to go to the church or temple, they must ask for the employer‟s permission in advance For caretakers, if they have an emergency, they usually arrange a substitute before leaving In addition, some domestic workers are not familiar with the area so they stay in the house to avoid getting lost One of the housemaids disclosed that her employer spared no effort to prevent her from taking public holidays leave or personal leave Some employers install surveillance cameras to monitor housemaids or call to landline telephone to check up on the housemaids Participant 10 shared: This is one of the times I was upset That was when my mother died She was not cremated but buried instead My family phoned me and said that I had to attend the bone turning ritual I asked for a few days off but the employer did not approve That was so unreasonable I had a fight with the employer but I ended up not taking any day off I was so naive back then (Interview 10, housemaid) The Forth Form: Isolation Employers may forbid housemaids from interacting with or talking to outsiders such as neighbors, friends, or even the housemaid‟s relatives because they afraid that the housemaids may gossip about them Four out of 19 participants were told to stay away from strangers and neighbors Their employers also keep the house key when they are not home, locking the housemaids inside the house Participant 14 said: I am not allowed to leave the house nor interact with anyone At first that was boring but I am used to it now I think they have their reasons They worry that I may gossip with others or listen to others and quit the job (Interview 14, housemaid) On the employers‟ side, they admit that they isolate the housemaids from outsiders to prevent them from associating with bad people and to protect their children I am worried when I leave home due my family’s predicament I have to be at work most of the time, entrusting the entire house and my children to the housemaid I worry that she may meet and associate with bad people and conspires with them Therefore, I keep all the housemaids I have ever hired inside the house If I am not home, I will lock them inside the house None of 169 HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC “PHÁT TRIỂN XÃ HỘI HỌC CÔNG Ở VIỆT NAM” the housemaids complained All of them agree to it (Interview 04, employer of a housemaid) Unlike housemaids, who are often isolated, caretakers can freely interact with other caretakers, nurses, doctors, and relatives of other patients The Fifth Form 5: Physical and sexual violence It can be deduced from the interviews that caretakers are more vulnerable to physical violence Most caretakers have been hit, slapped, thrown at, or have their hair pulled by the patients before However, they acknowledged that the violence is not intentional but the results of the patients‟ medical conditions Therefore, they understand and sympathize with the patients A patient once hit me out of anger but his son apologized, saying his medical condition made him irritable Therefore, I just have to tolerate them We are paid to tolerate them (Interview 04, caretaker) Some of the domestic workers are victims of physical violence at both their home and work place The remaining patriarchy mentality is the reason why some husbands still abuse their wives Participant 17 shared: My ex-husband was an alcoholic He used to beat me regularly He beat me without any mercy My children asked me to divorce with him My parents said so too so I divorced him That was more than 20 years ago, when I was still living in the North Alcoholics and gamblers are the worst To tell the truth, I have never had a happy family (Interview 17, caretaker) Caretakers are also more vulnerable to sexual violence Seven out of nine participants had been sexually harassed (six were harassed in the hospital, one in the patient‟s home), the other two have witnessed or heard stories about sexual harassment at work The most common forms of sexual harassment they have to face are being be groped and touched in inappropriate ways, being watched in the restroom, receiving requests for sexual favors, or getting hit out of jealousy Some patients even expose their private parts to check the caretakers‟ reaction Victims are usually threatened or bribed to stay silent Have been harassed at least twice, a caretaker recalled: Because I took care of them, some patients think of me as their wife and want to keep me for themselves Some try to have physical contacts with me Some had desires and told me about them One of the patients talked to me non-stop whenever he saw me Some are very jealous of me and mad at me for talking with other men They thought I belong to them Recently, a patient pretended to trip and fall into me to grope me He groped my breast I know he faked that (Interview 08, caretaker) Most culprits of sexual harassment towards caretakers are men who have difficulty in movement due to complications after stroke However, they are still lucid and still have sexual desire The caretakers believe that the limited social life, high frequency of 170 HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC “PHÁT TRIỂN XÃ HỘI HỌC CÔNG Ở VIỆT NAM” interaction, and unrelieved sexual desire are what caused the misbehaviors of these patients Other offenders only stay a few days in the hospital to treat certain wounds or injuries so they are more bold and forceful when harassing the caretakers The sixth Form: Intimidation and threats As mentioned, domestic workers are usually threatened after they are sexually harassed to prevent them from reporting the harassers to the police Some harassers even challenge the victim to report them In particular, one of the participants was threaten that she would not receive her wage if she did not comply with the employer‟s requests Some client keeps threaten to fire us A client called her son and told him withhold my wage until she says otherwise Then she kept threatening to fire me and not pay me Other people who witnessed that also said that I should not have accepted the job (Interview 17, caretaker) Participant shared that she once had to take care of a preterm baby who have a sunken fontanelle The employer told her to let the baby drink plenty of water to keep the fontanelle full She fed the baby water throughout the day as told but one day, upon seeing the baby‟s fontanelle drops, the employer yelled in rage and cursed her, determining to make her pay if anything happened to the child That day she saw the fontanelle dropped so she yelled at me and cursed me She said that if the child health were affected by my negligence, she would curse me until the end of my life At that time, I could only cry I could not say a word I did not know what to say (Interview 03, housemaid) One of the 19 participants have worked abroad as a housemaid She was constantly threaten that if she tried to run away; she would be captured and beaten Since she had seen other housemaid was beaten brutally, she had no choice but staying and finishing her contract The one from Ho Chi Minh City was constantly unfed and abused so she ran away and went back to Vietnam She only lasted a few months The one from Nam Dinh worked for another house She phoned me and told me that the husband in that house is a pervert He kept asking her to sleep with him and beat her when she refused (Interview 02, housemaid) The Seventh Form: Retention of identity documents Retention of identity documents (Identity Card) or valuable belongings is also an indicator of forced labour Workers without identity documents often have trouble finding new jobs or accessing essential services, and may be afraid to contact the authorities or nongovernment organizations for help According to Article 20 in Vietnam‟s 2012 Labour Code, when signing and implementing employment contracts, employers are not allowed: To keep the employee’s original identification documents, degrees and certificates (Vietnam, 2012) 171 HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC “PHÁT TRIỂN XÃ HỘI HỌC CÔNG Ở VIỆT NAM” Statistically, four out of 19 participants had their identity cards confiscated by their employer This happens more frequently to housemaids but they think that the employer‟s request is reasonable To explain for their action, the employers said that they only want to take precaution They keep the identity cards just in case the housemaid has unethical behaviors such as stealing, violating the law, or harming any family member The majority of employers did not aware that they their action is prohibited in the Labour Code An employer said: I always keep the identity card itself, not a photocopy Identity cards are indispensable when apply for a job Most people are afraid to apply for replacement of lost identity card since that requires them to deal with the authorities Therefore, identity cards are very valuable (Interview 03, employer of housemaid) The Eighth Form: Withholding of wages According to ILO, workers may be forced to endure an abusive employer whilst “waiting for the wages that are owed to them” (ILO, 1930) Sometimes, irregular or delayed payment of wages may occur and does not related to forced labour situation Only wages that “are systematically and deliberately withheld as a means to compel the worker to remain, and deny him or her of the opportunity to change employer” (ILO, 1930) can be considered an indicator of forced labour In this research, most domestic workers believe that their wage is too trivial for the employer to withhold Participant said: No one would withhold our wages This is already one of the lowest paying jobs so only the most heartless would withhold our wages I think no one would that (Interview 03, housemaid) However, there are two cases where the employers withheld the wage or delay payment to prevent the housemaids from quitting the job and one case where the employer did not pay the caretaker In the first few years, my wage was withheld He only gave me my wage after four or five years He was afraid that I might quit the job (Interview 10, housemaid) The Eighth Form: Debt bondage Workers‟ debt can arise from loans or wage advances to cover transport or recruitment costs or from emergency or daily living expenses Through manipulation of accounts, some employer may further compound worker‟s debts, especially when the workers is illiterate Debt bondage may also arise when a child have to work to pay for a loan given to his or her parents or relatives Some employers can make it even harder for workers to pay off the debt by inflating interest rates, undervaluing the work performed, or charges the workers for food and housing “Debt bondage – or bonded labour – reflects an imbalance in power between 172 HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC “PHÁT TRIỂN XÃ HỘI HỌC CÔNG Ở VIỆT NAM” the worker-debtor and the employer-creditor It has the effect of binding the worker to the employer for an unspecified period of time.” (ILO, 1930) Over the course of their work, some domestic workers may need money for personal and family expenses such as buying houses, buying furniture, buying vehicles, or house renovation In such cases, the employers usually loan them from six months to one year‟s salary However, one of the participants has been in debt bondage when a job agency sent her to work abroad Her debt arose from the transport and recruitment costs According to Participant 2, the agency informed her that the transport and recruitment costs accounted to 40 million VND, the contract lasted years, and her job was cooking and cleaning the house Upon arriving, however, she learned that she was deceived when the employer make her take care of an infant only six days old Quitting the job meant she would have to pay compensation for breaching the contract, not to mention that the employer may try to capture her and beat her Therefore, she had to stay and work until the contract expired I was already there Going back to Vietnam meant breaching the contract They would not let me quit if I could not pay back the loan If I had not listened to them and breached the contract, I would have been beaten I had heard about the outcomes of other housemaid so I did not dare to quit No matter how terrible the work was, I could only endure it (Interview 02, housemaid) For caretakers, they also have to tolerate their patients and continue working because their agency have received the clients‟ deposit or because they not want to hurt the reputation of their agency or the one who referred them for the job Most people not deliberately choose this job but because they have no other choice However when we work, we have to think for the agency, for those who referred us We have to make sure they are not affected (Interview 17, caretaker) The Tenth Form: Abusive working and living conditions Forced laborers are more likely to endure substandard living and working conditions They may have to live in unhealthy and overcrowded conditions and have no privacy Victims of forced labour may also be subject to degrading or hazardous working conditions that are in severe breach of labour law because they have no other choice “Abusive conditions should represent an “alert” to the possible existence of coercion that is preventing the exploited workers from leaving the job.” (ILO, 1930) Compared to caretakers, housemaids have better working and living condition in general Caretakers have higher risk to contract contagious diseases because they work in hospital and have to interact with many patients Most caretakers had to sleep near the patient‟s bed on a sedge mat on the ground or a hired camp bed Only a few high-class hospitals arrange extra bed for caretakers Furthermore, caretakers have less time to rest and sleep compared to housemaids Since their job requires them to take care of the patient around the clock, 173 HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC “PHÁT TRIỂN XÃ HỘI HỌC CÔNG Ở VIỆT NAM” most caretakers are sleep deprived Despite the bad working conditions, the caretakers are all used to them Some patients are nice but some are very irritable Some of them keep me awake with overnight for a whole week After that, I usually fall sick due to exhaustion However, no matter how terrible the patients are, I still have to put up with them They are in pain so we have to empathize with them (Interview 19, caretaker) In regards to meals, housemaids are usually disdained and not allowed to have meal with employer‟s family whilst the caretakers have to bring their own meals; only a few clients pay for caregivers‟ meals A housemaid disclosed: They not let me have meals They only let me eat bland bread No rice nor any other food Only refrigerated bread, nothing else (Interview 02, housemaid) Another housemaid said: When I was having a dinner, the employer came to the kitchen and took all the food to the dinner room, leaving me nothing Once I boiled some vegetables After scooping out all the vegetables, I sneaked away a bowl of the water I had to hide the bowl my room to prevent the employer from finding out otherwise I would be scolded (Interview 03, housemaid) As stated by Decree No 27/2014/NĐ-CP, “before hiring a worker, the employer and the worker shall directly conclude an employment contract” (Vietnam, 2014) and pay for the worker‟s social insurance and health insurance In reality, however, 19 out of 19 participants have no social insurance nor health insurance and most housemaids have not signed any employment contract For caretakers who work under agencies, employers only sign the contracts with the agencies so they are not informed of the type and terms of the contracts The domestic workers themselves are also not want to sign employment contracts in fear of getting in trouble with the law Some housemaids not want to be bound by the contract in case they want to quit the job unilaterally On the other hand, the employers not want to sign contracts to avoid troublesome paperwork Form number 11: Excessive overtime Employers may exploit workers through underpaid overtime For some housemaids, not only they have to house chores in the employers‟ house but also in the houses of the employers‟ relatives I not like to work at the house of the employer’s mother I had to work there once a week I had to everything I am only disappointed because I have to so much work without getting additional wage Despite all my hard work, they still treat me with disdain I receive their look of disapproval whenever I take a meal break After having lunch at two, I have to work restlessly until I 174 HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC “PHÁT TRIỂN XÃ HỘI HỌC CÔNG Ở VIỆT NAM” can have dinner at eight, when everyone else finished their meal (Interview 15, housemaid) Another form of overtime is forcing domestic workers to works not mentioned in their contract Our job is taking care of the patient but they made me house chores and run errands I was only paid for one job but have to two, three jobs at once (Interview 08, caretaker) Conclusion And Recommendations Domestic workers is a growing work force, contributing more and more to the development of each country‟s economy, culture, and society However, these workers are more vulnerable than ever, partly due to their gender, financial conditions, family issues, and lack of education Female domestic workers have to face much hardship and discrimination The research results suggested that forced labour and violence, especially sexual violence and exploitation, are prevalent among female domestic workers They have been degrading women's social status and violating human rights It is our responsibility to give them their deserved equality in finding jobs, education, and access to health care and social welfare The study therefore draws the following recommendations:  Raise awareness of domestic workers, domestic employers, and relevant parties on human rights through social campaigns;  Advocate employment contract between domestic workers and employer so that both are legally protected;  Develop programs to improve their social and spiritual life;  Authorities must set up centers that provide counsel and support for domestic workers, especially one who fell victim to violence or abuse;  There are little administration of domestic workers in Vietnam We should establish an official database containing information of domestic workers The database will provide valuable information for research on this subject, authorities‟ administration, and policy makers REFERENCES Vietnam (2014) Decree No 27/2014/ND-CP Regulating a number of articles of the Labour Code concerning Domestic Servants., https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/Lao-dongTien-luong/Nghi-dinh-27-2014-ND-CP-huong-dan-Bo-luat-Lao-dong-ve-nguoi-giup-viecgia-dinh-225805.aspx Truy cập ngày 15-6-2017 International Labour Organization (2011) Decent Work for Domestic Workers Convention 189 & Recommendation 201 at a glance, http://www.ILO.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_protect/@protrav/@travail/documents/p ublication/wcms_170438.pdf Truy cập ngày 15-6-2017 Hoàng Phê (2003) Từ điển tiếng Việt NXB Đà Nẵng 175 HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC “PHÁT TRIỂN XÃ HỘI HỌC CÔNG Ở VIỆT NAM” International Labour Organization The Status and conditions of employment of domestic workers Meeting of Experts, Geneva, 2-6 July 1951, Report 3, Document MDW/8 International Labour organization (1930) Convention concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour, http://www.ILO.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CO DE:C029 Truy cập ngày 15-6-2017 N.Quyết (2012) Employer who abused housemaid brutally sentenced to 18 months in prison, http://nld.com.vn/phap-luat/phat-chu-nha-bao-hanh-da-man-nguoi-giup-viec-18thang-tu-2012051607559689.htm Truy cập ngày 15-6-2017 Nguyễn Đình Cử, Phạm Đại Đồng (2014) Migration Countryside – City in Viet Nam: Some Discussions, http://www.khoathongke.neu.edu.vn/ViewNCKH.aspx?ID=43 Truy cập ngày 15-6-2017 Oxfam & Research centre for genfer - family and community development (GFCD) (2013) Brief report: Overview on the situation of domestic workers in Vietnam from 2007 to present, http://gfcd.org.vn/chi-tiet-tin/bao-cao-tom-tat-tong-quan-ve-lao-dong-giup-viecgia-dinh.html Truy cập ngày 15-6-2017 Vietnam (2012) Labour Code, http://vanban.chinhphu.vn/portal/page/portal/chinhphu/hethongvanban?class_id=1&mode=d etail&document_id=163542 Truy cập ngày 15-6-2017 10 International Labour Organization: Domestic Workers Convention (1930) ILO Indicators Of Forced Labour, http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/ -ed_norm/ declaration/documents/publication/wcms_203832.pdf 11 Tran Lam (2014) Signing Employment Contracts with Domestic Workers: Impractical, http://www.baomoi.com/ky-hop-dong-lao-dong-voi-nguoi-giup-viec-gia-dinhkho-kha-thi/c/13960840.epi Truy cập ngày 15-6-2017 12 WHO (2002) World report on violence and health, http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/world_report/en/summary_en.pdf Truy cập ngày 15-6-2017 176 ... 2017 in Ho Chi Minh City Focusing on two groups of female domestic workers, housemaids and patient caretakers, and the research was based on the assumption that frequency and intensity of interaction... guiding a number of articles of the Code of Labor in relation to domestic workers has only been issued in 2014 Earlier researches in Vietnam mainly focused on the aspects of finance, skill training,... not offered himself voluntarily” (ILO, 1930) This paper uses data collected from the research ? ?Violence towards Female Domestic Workers in Ho Chi Minh City Nowadays? ?? carried out by the author