Hong Kong, China – A 36-year-old foreign domestic worker in Hong Kong arrived home late one night in October 2022 when his Swedish employer was on his way to take out the garbage.
X, as she was known in court to protect her identity, said she appeared to be drunk.
Soon he was demanding sex.
She said she tried to reason with him, rejecting his advances. But despite her repeated calls for him to stop, he dragged her into his bedroom and raped her.
“He told me he wanted my daughter too. He also said: ‘I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you,'” X recalled speaking through an interpreter at Hong Kong’s High Court in August.
“I was terrified and frozen with fear,” the domestic worker said, insisting that she had never consented to having physical relations with him.
Unlike others domestic workers Under similar conditions, X decides to act. She moved out of the family flat the next morning and went to the police despite being the sole breadwinner for her four children and knowing she would lose her job and home.
Nearly two years later, a jury last month convicted X’s employer of one count of rape and one count of molestation without consent.
“I am grateful to God that I am alive and to the Hong Kong government that justice was served,” X told Al Jazeera shortly after the verdict. “I am also very grateful to the social workers and everyone who helped me during this two-year journey.”
X’s case is one of the few successful rape cases involving a foreign domestic worker in Hong Kong, highlighting the challenges migrant women face in seeking justice. Experts say many victims don’t press charges, but they hope X’s victory will encourage other survivors to come forward.
“We can say that this is a victory not only for the victim but also for all domestic workers in Hong Kong and around the world,” said Sarah Pun, vice president of the Nepal Domestic Workers Union in Hong Kong.
She noted that X faced many challenges in seeking justice, including trauma, being separated from his family and having no income. “We are proud of the victim and her strength to pursue this case to the end,” she added.
Dolores Belladeres, chairperson of United Filipinos in Hong Kong and spokeswoman for the Asian Migrant Coordinating Body, agreed: “It is a positive development because it is difficult for domestic workers to get justice. The burden of proof is always on our shoulders.”
Balladeres notes that rape cases are particularly difficult to report, “as many will blame the victim”.
X’s win comes about a month after a Philippine domestic worker – identified in court proceedings as CB – lost a 1.06 million Hong Kong dollar ($135,982) civil suit in the Chinese territory against her British employer for alleged sexual assault. She has since filed an appeal.
CB’s employer, who initially represented himself, was sentenced in 2021 to 30 months in prison for two counts of indecent assault. He was later acquitted of all charges after a retrial on procedural and technical grounds, including issues related to the admission of evidence.
Afraid to come forward
There were 363,576 migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong as of the end of August. About 56 percent were from these, according to a spokesperson for the city’s immigration department Philippinesfollowed by about 42 percent from Indonesia. The rest were from countries like India and Thailand.
Advocates said domestic workers from ethnic minority backgrounds, such as X who is an Indian citizen of Nepali origin, are particularly vulnerable to abuse.
Manisha Wijesinghe, executive director of the Hong Kong charity Help for Domestic Workers, said people in crisis usually turn to their colleagues. But for people from small migrant communities, it may be difficult to find other workers from the same country and even NGOs may not be able to respond to them immediately due to language barriers.
“These women certainly face more problems, but many never come to light,” Wijesinghe said. “They spend their time in Hong Kong and eventually leave. They are rarely able to reach out for support.”
She said her organization receives an average of one case of sexual abuse or harassment every month.
Research conducted in 2019 by the Progressive Labor Union of Domestic Workers in Hong Kong showed that migrant domestic workers are at greater risk of exploitation because their employment and living arrangements – where their income, food and housing depend on their two-year work contract – Power imbalance.
The study noted that “few migrant domestic workers use existing legal remedies available in Hong Kong to enforce their rights”, as they find them “costly” and “time-consuming”.
A spokesperson for Concerned Sexual Violence Against Women, an association that promotes gender equality in Hong Kong, said “some policies put foreign domestic workers in a particularly vulnerable position, especially when they face sexual abuse and are confused about whether or not to report it.”
For example, a rule requiring domestic workers to live with their employer in Hong Kong could effectively “block victim-survivors from seeking medical assistance.”
Those who breach their contracts are accused of job hopping, and many fear that could prevent them from getting future visas.
At the same time, she said, many domestic workers worry about leaving the city within 14 days of the expiration or completion of their contract.
Some victims of sexual abuse or harassment are also hesitant to come forward for cultural reasons.
“There is still a stigma, they are very ashamed, they think: ‘Who am I to bring something to a place where they look down on us?'” said Cynthia Abdon-Tellez, head of the Mission for Migrant Workers. is , a group that provides support services for migrant workers in Hong Kong.
She added that it was “rare” for a migrant worker like X to testify in court in a sexual abuse case.
‘Often stuck in limbo’
Wijesinghe agreed that most domestic workers find the legal system intimidating.
She countered claims that domestic workers file abuse cases for financial gain. “There are many easy ways to get paid quickly,” said the former paralegal, adding that victims often have to relive their trauma multiple times, undergo medical examinations and face cross-examination in open court.
“The victim is stuck in a state. In some cases it takes years. It’s not like they point fingers and sit back and wait for justice. A victim has to go through a lot,” Wijesinghe said.
The length of reporting procedures and the inability to provide for their families cause some to abandon their cases.
But even when they go through the legal system, analysts said the unique circumstances of domestic workers can be overlooked.
“We have observed that bias and discrimination can occur in the justice system,” said a spokesperson for the Association on Sexual Violence Against Women. She added that “officials and professionals sometimes dismiss or downplay claims without fully appreciating the context and structural oppression. [these workers]”
Chloe Martin, program manager at Stop Trafficking in People (STOP) – an organization focused on ending the practice in Hong Kong – said she learned of X’s ruling with “great relief”, but noted that more needs to be done when it comes to keeping it. need Survivors are informed during legal proceedings and supported after judgments are reached.
X first heard about the decision through a support group and not through official channels.
“Going forward, we urge the justice system to implement stronger victim notification protocols,” Martin said. “Providing them with timely updates is an important component of trauma-informed, victim-centered practices that should be standard.”
Balladeres said she hopes X’s case can encourage other workers to come forward. “We can say that there is hope, even if it is difficult and humiliating.”
Pune also called on fellow domestic workers to seek help. “There are many organizations that can support us,” she said. “Silencing yourself means giving sexual predators and bad employers more opportunities.”
In search of a new life
X is still traumatized by his experience.
“I was very happy before I came [to Hong Kong]”She recalled in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera. “I thought I would earn enough to help my family, but I almost died and had a lot of trouble.”
X said she never expected to be involved in a court case. “It was painful. Not easy [to deal with] So many questions,” said the domestic worker, who was questioned for three days by the prosecution and defense lawyers. Her testimony was delivered via videolink from a closed courtroom, keeping her out of the public and media eye.
X became emotional while describing parts of the rape in court, but found the “defense lies the hardest to hear”.
During the eight-day trial, the employer, whose wife and three children had left for Japan, denied that he forced himself on her. Instead, he claimed they had consensual sex and that the domestic worker had initiated it – not just once, but twice before.
Patrik Tobias Ekström, a Hong Kong-based businessman two years younger than X, testified that during the alleged sexual encounter and on other occasions inside the home, she asked for financial assistance to pay off loans in her home country.
He is expected to be sentenced on November 11 and faces up to life in prison.
Despite winning the case, X said his ordeal is not over. She has been unable to work since leaving her former employer’s home and relies mostly on charity to get her through the court process.
She is also worried about the reaction of some of her relatives. “How will I face my brother and my male cousin?” X told Al Jazeera.
The migrant woman said she plans to return home for a while after the sentence and then work for another family in Hong Kong.
“I had a very bad experience, but I think Hong Kong is a good place,” she said.
X urged the workers who were facing similar problems to come to the police.
Her experience has also inspired her to talk to her daughters about sexual abuse and harassment. “I tell them not to be silent… speak up and address the issue properly.”
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