The exploitation of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon has been the subject of heightened attention in the media and by international organizations. The nature of domestic labor as work performed in the privacy of homes and away from public scrutiny grants employers heightened power and control. Servant, Daughter, or Employee? A Pilot Study on the Attitudes of Lebanese Employers towards Migrant Domestic Workers explores the general attitudes and practices of Lebanese employers towards domestic workers. We sought to move away from issues related physical and sexual violence, which have been amply addressed in previous reports, and to focus instead on how employers justify and talk about normative attitudes and practices. The report is based on a mixed qualitative and quantitative study, employing focus group discussions and one-on-one interviews, as well as the collection of survey data. The findings reveal that blatant violations of the rights of domestic workers – such as withholding their salaries, not giving them enough food, and subjecting them to forms of violence – are virtually unanimously rejected in Lebanese society. Conversely, practices that equally infringe on the rights of domestic workers and heighten employer power and control – such as withholding their passports, preventing them from going out alone on their day off, and, to a lesser extent, locking them inside the employers’ house – receive less widespread rejection. These findings can guide future awareness campaign plans that target employer attitudes and practices and that link to more comprehensive policies.
