In Lebanon, which employs an estimated 200,000 domestic workers, primarily from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Ethiopia, the most common complaints made by domestic workers include non-payment or delayed payment of their wages, forced confinement to the workplace, no time off, and verbal, as well as physical, abuse. According to a 2006 survey of 600 migrant domestic workers conducted by Dr. Ray Jureidini of the American University of Cairo, 56 percent said they work more than 12 hours a day and 34 percent have no regular time off. These difficult work conditions have had deadly consequences as recently released research by Human Rights Watch shows that migrant domestic workers in Lebanon are dying at a rate of one per week, most often from suicide and during failed attempts to escape from their employers.
