A/HRC/39/52 suitable for regulation because it is still regarded as a private arrangement in a household. 64 Similarly, 42.6 per cent of all domestic workers were found not to enjoy minimum wage protection and more than one third of all women domestic workers are not entitled to maternity leave or associated benefits. Coverage gaps are particularly significant in the Middle East and in South-East and South Asia. 52. Globally, the lack of social security benefits and of gender-sensitive health care coverage further increases the vulnerability of migrant domestic workers and their dependence on their employers.65 In such a situation, it is very difficult for undocumented migrant domestic workers to safely exit a situation of violence and exploitation. 53. Over the past years, the treaty bodies have expressed serious concern regarding forced labour and the domestic servitude of women and children in all geographic regions. 66 For example, they have referred to practices amounting to domestic servitude or to insufficient legislation to prevent exploitation and abuse in the domestic sector. 54. Forced labour is an absolute violation of fundamental human rights and is considered a crime in most national legal systems. Nevertheless, victims of forced labour, servitude or other types of slavery-like practices face significant barriers in submitting and pursuing complaints, and thus face severe difficulty in securing access to justice for violations of their rights. That may be owing to a prohibition to leave the house, the confiscation of their passport or a fear of homelessness, detection of irregular migration status, arrest, detention or deportation. 55. Some migrant workers do not report abuse because they are not familiar with reporting channels, they do not trust governmental authorities or do not have access to the justice system under national laws, such as in Lebanon. 67 In other instances, they report crimes of forced labour or servitude, or of violence and abuse, but are not taken seriously by the authorities and the judiciary. Another obstacle is the absence of safe reporting channels. In many countries, a complaint cannot be filed without the involvement of the immigration authorities, which exposes victims to the authorities rather than enabling them to access services and protection mechanisms. If victims of servitude and of other human rights violations were able to file complaints, regardless of their migration status, and adequate firewalls between labour and immigration ministries were in place, their access to justice and protection from servitude, exploitation and abuse could be enhanced. 56. Ultimately, the significant asymmetry of power between domestic workers and their employers constitutes an obstacle to accessing justice and increases the difficulties workers may have in proving coercion and abuse. Evidence regarding the conditions of employment of a domestic worker remains within the confines of the workplace, the employer’s home, while, depending on the jurisdiction, the burden of proof lies on the domestic worker and free legal aid is rarely available. 68 Furthermore, the absence of formal accountability mechanisms in the domestic sector makes it very difficult for victims to access justice and adequate remedies. 69 In countries such as France, many migrant domestic workers are exploited by individuals of the same nationality, which increases the fear of repercussions against family members in case of any reports of abuse. 70 57. The existing structural barriers to accessing justice for victims of servitude contribute to a culture of impunity among perpetrators. 71 Very few victims of servitude seek compensation and as survivors of exploitation and abuse do not always identify as victims, 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 12 ILO, Domestic workers across the world. Ibid. See, for example, CAT/C/LBN/CO/1; CMW/C/BGD/CO/1; CMW/C/SEN/CO/2-3; CRC/C/CAF/CO/2; CRC/C/PAK/CO/5; CEDAW/C/BDI/CO/5-6; CEDAW/C/PHL/CO/7-8; CCPR/C/KAZ/CO/2; and CCPR/C/CHL/CO/6. Article 7 of the Lebanese labour law excludes domestic servants from the scope of application (see the submission of ILO Ethiopia). Submission of ILO Ethiopia. Ibid. Comité Contre l’Esclavage Moderne, submission for the present report. Submission of PICUM, GAATW and La Strada International.