No place or medium to get help:
When abused, workers do know how to report the case or where to seek help, resulting in them suffering in silence and these abuses lasting a long period of time.
Employers’ feeling of superiority over workers:
In society, bosses tend to hold control over their employees, and employees are usually taught to be obedient. The same happens with domestic workers and their employers. We can see this phenomenon usually occurs in Asia, where many cultures highlight the importance of obedience to your superiors/elders.
Stress of the Employer:
In places such as Singapore, and Hong Kong, many employers lead a very stressful life, especially in the workplace. When they get home, they can identify the domestic workers’ as easy targets for them to take out their stress on.
Lack of training for domestic workers:
Due to the high demand for domestic workers, some of them do not have sufficient training in order to start working faster. This might result in workers not being able to do basic tasks, leading to employers being frustrated with the domestic helper. When the frustration reaches a certain level, abuses might start to occur.
The Power that the Employer Holds:
Often, it is the employer who holds superior power over the domestic worker, especially contract terminations. Employers use the threat of terminating their contracts as a sort of leverage / blackmail in order to exploit the domestic worker without them complaining/reporting them.