The ILO Domestic Workers Convention was
unthinkable just a few years ago. It represents the culmination of years of
effort by domestic workers, advocates, and officials to shine a spotlight on a
long-ignored but significant sector of the workforce, says Nisha Varia.
01.12.2012. If someone had told me 45 years ago that
we would be here today, I would not have believed it. We do not have to be
slaves anymore. — Myrtle Witbooi, chair of the International Domestic Workers
Network and former domestic worker from South Africa, Geneva, June 10, 2011
Growing activism against modern-day
slavery has highlighted the abuse and exploitation suffered by millions of men,women, and children around the world. Donor funding has flowed to create
shelters and services for victims while a proliferation of anti-trafficking
legislation has focused on arresting and prosecuting traffickers.
