7. Conclusion
An ongoing difficult economic situation in Sierra Leone is driving women to look for better life opportunities in the Gulf countries. Traffickers target these women, creating a thriving and growing business. In Oman, the women’s legal status is assigned to an individual, creating unrestrained and unchecked power over the worker. Elements of the kafala system (sponsorship system) keep the women in forced labour, and systemic gaps in legislation and enforcement of existing procedures prevent women from accessing remedy mechanisms and justice. In addition, a repressed civic space in Oman obstructs women from receiving any form of support.
The objective of this report is to identify the root causes of the human rights abuses experienced by Sierra Leonean women domestic workers in Oman, expose our findings, and put forward recommendations to bring about meaningful change. As this report demonstrates, current efforts to understand, prevent and address human trafficking and forced labour are not enough. After 22 months of thorough research, investigation, collection of RT & NRT data and analysis, and detailed conversations coupled with our on-the-ground knowledge, our findings reveal that:
- There is substantial and compelling evidence that human trafficking, labour exploitation and a distressing array of human rights violations experienced by Sierra Leoneans in Oman are widespread, systemic, and, to an extent, normalised;
- Efforts to prevent human trafficking and labour exploitation of Sierra Leoneans in Oman are vital for a just and equal society, but are, to a great extent, absent;
- Efforts to address human trafficking and labour exploitation and other forms of abuse experienced by domestic workers in Oman are insufficient and ineffective in both Sierra Leone and Oman.
These conclusions reflect an urgent need for action. Our findings identify a significant and largely overlooked issue that requires an immediate response. This report calls for a system change from one where domestic workers do not have equal status as other workers in other sectors, and whose rights and human dignity are not protected or respected, to a system that allows domestic workers to earn a decent living with dignity and access to opportunities to thrive. Understanding that a system change will require significant efforts, we have put forward a set of recommendations that are critical to achieving this. These recommendations provide a blueprint to better prevent and address human trafficking, forced labour and other forms of abuse experienced by domestic workers in Oman from in Sierra Leone. Besides reporting on detailed findings and putting forward these recommendations, we also welcome collaborations with both governments and we look forward to supporting the governments of Oman and Sierra Leone in providing further insights or support for implementing these recommendations.
As domestic workers continue to endure labour exploitation and other forms of abuse in Oman with little or no protection or support, Sierra Leoneans continue to be trafficked to the Gulf country. Our findings have put forward evidence of a much larger problem, too big not to be prioritised.
