A/HRC/39/52 workforce in private homes and underlying social norms which mean that domestic work is not regarded as “real work”. Discriminatory attitudes are particularly strong drivers where migrant domestic workers are also members of marginalized communities, such as caste-affected groups and indigenous groups, when their employers are from higher castes or are socially powerful. States must therefore reinforce their efforts to identify victims and potential victims of servitude, considering that migrants in vulnerable situations are always at high risk of falling prey to traffickers and of becoming victims of contemporary forms of slavery. 77. Another challenge relates to the fact that international human rights law and international labour law are not understood as applying to domestic workers and that ratification and implementation of existing international instruments and mechanisms which contribute to the prevention of domestic servitude, such as the Domestic Workers Convention, remain limited. 78. Generally, more attention is paid to human trafficking for sexual exploitation than to exploitation for forced labour, including servitude in the domestic sphere. A victim-centred approach needs to be applied to all victims of contemporary forms of slavery to ensure equal treatment, regardless of the sector of prevalence. 79. Victims of domestic servitude continue to face major obstacles in accessing justice owing to their dependency on the employer; minimal employer accountability owing to an absence of international standards in this area; widespread passport retention by the employer; poor enforcement of laws against employment agencies; a significant imbalance of power between employers and domestic workers that exacerbates vulnerability and abuse; a lack of knowledge of or reluctance to use existing complaint mechanisms by workers; and a lack of conceptual clarity around forced labour which, compounded with frequent psychological coercion, impacts on the identification of forced labour situations and the credibility and quality of prosecutions. 80. In formulating policy responses to ensure that migrant domestic workers do not become subject to slavery or servitude, States should note that not all women in domestic work are equally vulnerable. An intersectional approach to domestic servitude is therefore needed, recognizing the specific ways in which different women are affected. 81. The effective fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goals and in particular of Goal 8 on the promotion of sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all is directly linked to the prevention of domestic servitude. The Sustainable Development Goals agenda therefore provides a unique opportunity to reverse inequalities at the national, regional and global level, and to provide dignifying economic opportunities to all, including to migrant domestic workers. B. Recommendations to States 82. To effectively prevent and combat domestic servitude, to ensure the protection of migrant women and their access to decent work, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States: (a) Create viable, accessible and non-discriminatory employment options for women as a sustainable alternative to poverty and to prevent exploitation; (b) Implement international human rights law and international labour law to ensure protection of the fundamental human rights of migrant domestic workers; (c) Ratify and implement the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) and the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, and implement the core conventions, including the Forced Labour Convention and the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families; 17

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