NCJ Number
227113
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 49 Issue: 2 Dated: March 2009 Pages: 165-183
Date Published
March 2009
Length
19 pages
Annotation
Following research exploring policewomen's roles in Bahrain, this study examined the prevalence of housemaid-related cases in the women's section of Bahraini police stations.
Abstract
The research uncovered details of a larger social and economic problem in the Arabian Gulf countries involving the legal status of the female emigrant guest workers. Housemaids or former housemaids made up the majority of female defendants who were ethnographically observed at Bahrain's local police stations. An overall trend was revealed in the criminalization of domestic worker-related labor disputes. In the Middle East, as well as in many countries around the world, domestic workers, or housemaids, who have migrated from their primarily South Asian home countries for work have become increasingly vulnerable to human rights abuses such as physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their employers. In the Arabian Gulf, the situation is exacerbated by the lack of labor laws protecting these foreign workers. The problem with housemaids transcends the authority of local police stations, yet local police stations, and particularly the policewomen have been tasked as the primary responders. Police are unable to directly confront the larger sociopolitical, economic, and legal issues surrounding the problem and instead must utilize the tools at their disposal to handle the influx of housemaids. Because of this, housemaids tend to be criminalized and incarcerated even in cases in which this is not appropriate. This research presents the types of cases observed and discusses the women police as agents of social control. References