Domestic Helper Abuse in Singapore: A Content Analysis

• In Event: International Perspectives on the Other

Abstract

This presentation will examine domestic helper abuse in Singapore and the criminal justice system’s response. It will critique whether Singapore’s legal system has been successful in curbing this social problem.

According to The Straits Times, there has been an “upward trend” in domestic helper abuse in Singapore. The number of domestic helpers working there has been rising. Singapore, a first-class, modern city-state, has been employing an increasing number of live-in foreign helpers to manage household chores. Though the Penal Code has been amended to increase punishment for abusive employers, there have been more cases in recent times. Such abuse has called into question the civility of the Singaporean citizenry, the assumption that Singaporeans should be less inclined to display uncouth or uncivilized behavior as members of a modern nation-state. This project will use a content analysis of local newspaper reports and the LawNet database, as well as interviews with the Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME) personnel and narratives from some domestic helpers. This presentation will examine whether the penalties imposed on abusive employers and “mute bystanders” are sufficient to stop the abusive behavior, recommending structural policy changes to curb this growing social epidemic.

Authors

• Vijaya Perumal, University of Hawaii at Manoa

• Jared Romeo Dmello, University of Massachusetts Lowell / California State University, San Bernardino