“Hong
Kong is failing to protect victims of human trafficking for forced labour, a
report said Monday, calling for new legislation to prevent "modern-day
slavery" in a city which relies heavily on migrant workers.” The report
comes at a time of growing anger over the abuse of foreign domestic workers,
and a day before the trial of a Hong Kong employer accused of torturing her
Indonesian maid is set to resume. Current legislation in the southern Chinese
city only prohibits human trafficking “for the purpose of prostitution” but not
for the purpose of forced labor or other forms of trafficking, the joint report
by Justice Centre Hong Kong and Liberty Asia said. The report also said that
new legislation that expands the definition of human trafficking would help in
tackling forced labor abuse by perpetrators including placement agencies, loan
companies and employers. Hong Kong is home to nearly 300,000 domestic helpers,
many of who are from Indonesia and the Philippines, and criticism from rights
groups over their treatment is growing. In January, a 44-year old housewife was
charged with assault relating to her treatment of her maid, who was reportedly
unable to walk after eight months of abuse. She was also charged with abusing
two previous Indonesian maids. The problem of forced labor only deepens as Hong
Kong widens its search for cheap labor, the report said. “The main reason for
trafficking is simple: Hong Kong has a high demand for cheap labor and there is
a proximate abundance of supply from neighboring countries in the Asia-Pacific
region” it said. The city received its first official group of maids from
Myanmar in February, as it tries to plug a shortage in domestic workers, and
more are expected to arrive in the following months. Activists have expressed
fears that women from Myanmar will be one of the groups most vulnerable to
abuse due to language barriers. Amnesty International has condemned the
“slavery-like” conditions faced by thousands of domestic workers in Hong Kong
and accused authorities of inexcusable action.
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