They'd beat us with whatever is available to them’: Exploitation and abuse of Ghanaian domestic workers in the Middle East

Abstract

Generic accounts of pervasive cases of exploitation and abuse against migrant domestic workers in the Middle East exist in the extant literature. However, very little is known about the breadth, depth and gendered nature of abuses experienced by female migrants from especially the sub-Saharan African region. Abuses of the rights of sub-Saharan Africans are under-represented and under-theorised. This paper interrogates the question what is the nature, extent and severity of exploitation and abuse against female Ghanaian domestic workers in the Middle East? Using data from mixed-methods research, this paper adopts the framework of structural, symbolic and interpersonal violence to examine the range of abuses against domestic workers and the context within which these abuses take place