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Feature The BMJ Winter Appeal

Bringing healthcare to the UK’s abused domestic workers

BMJ 2016; 352 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i502 (Published 27 January 2016) Cite this as: BMJ 2016;352:i502
  1. Richard Hurley, features and debates editor, The BMJ
  1. rhurley{at}bmj.com

As we wrap up this year’s winter appeal, Richard Hurley reports on some of Doctors of the World’s work in London. The charity is well versed in bringing care to the most vulnerable people in developing and developed countries. You’ve raised more than £25 000 so far, and there’s still time to donate

In an anonymous office building near Holborn underground station, some of London’s most vulnerable residents meet every Sunday—for many, their only day off work. The group Justice for Domestic Workers (www.j4dw.com) campaigns for the rights of the roughly 16 000 foreign maids, nannies, and housekeepers in the United Kingdom. It has more than 1000 members.

Predominantly women aged 25-65, from countries as disparate as the Philippines, Nigeria, and India, they work in wealthy households, including for foreign royalty, diplomats, and British military officers, Marissa Begonia, a housekeeper and the group’s coordinator, told The BMJ. Some are pregnant or have young children.

The isolation of domestic work makes physical and sexual abuse common. But foreign workers can be wary about coming forward and having to prove ill treatment because they risk deportation.

UK law changed in 2012 to tie working visas to a single employer: now if employees quit they could breach immigration rules, and they risk becoming undocumented. Unscrupulous employers take advantage …

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