“It is desperation that is forcing us to go to Arab countries”: Pre-Migration Decision Making Among Ethiopian Domestic Workers

• In Event: Frontiers of Research on Human Trafficking

Abstract

Due to the well-documented human-rights abuses that domestic workers endure when working in the Middle East, it is important to understand why prospective workers remain motivated to seek this type of labor abroad. Migration is often viewed by rural Ethiopian women as a short-term strategy to achieve personal goals as well as a collective strategy to ameliorate financial stress on the family system. However, despite the negative reports of poor working conditions and human-rights abuses in the Middle East, many Ethiopian women still migrate abroad for domestic work. We sought to understand what motivated these women to continue to seek employment abroad, the major influencing factors, and their preparation to deal with any potential problems. Based on in-depth interviews and focus groups with Ethiopian domestic workers (n = 173), we find that deteriorating economic conditions in Ethiopia, varying levels of agency in their decision to migrate for work, and their interpretation of potential adverse working conditions in the destination country all contribute to their decisions to migrate to the Middle East for work. We conclude with several recommendations for private entities and government agencies to contemplate and design possible intervention strategies.

Authors

• Lauren Moton, New York University

• Stephen Abeyta, New York University

• Meredith Dank, New York University