Mon Woman Faces Sexual Abuse by Employer

August 19, 2008

By WCRP:

A 16 year-old Mon woman working in Thailand, in Samut Sakhon Province, Krathum Bean district, Om Noi subdistrict, in Zin Song Bun village was abused and faced sexual harassment by her employer, including during a massage she was giving him on July 7^th, 2008.

Mi Win (not her real name), worked as a house keeper and was also in charge of taking care of a sixty-year-old patient, who suffers from a number of ailments and is no longer able to walk. Part of her duty included daily massages of the patient, and moving him from his bed to his wheelchair. She was required to follow him should he wish to move.

According to Mi Win, “He has touched my breasts and hugged me three or four times before. This was the fourth time he tried to sexually abuse me during my 10 months working there. I was so afraid I quit my job.”

She went on, “I am not only taking care of the patient but also I have to work from 6am until well after dark. I have to do a lot of house work including sweeping the house and washing clothes, and also I have to bathe their dogs three times a week. It is a lot of work for 3,000 Baht and I was exhausted every day. However, I had to deal with it to support my poor family back in Burma.”

Mi Win comes from Karen State, Ha-An Township and has been in Thailand almost one and a half years working as a house keeper since her arrival.

In Thailand, many migrant woman face sexual abuse by their employers and some have been raped. They have no security and are often afraid of losing their jobs. They rarely report the abuse, and as a result sexual harassment is increasing among Burmese migrant woman in Thailand.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News