International Domestic Workers' Day: a Domestic Workers' Perspective

I am speaking with lived experience of exploitation in domestic work in the UK, and today, I want to highlight a few issues that are often overlooked in responses to modern slavery.

Domestic work happens behind closed doors, making it one of the most invisible forms of labour exploitation. Long hours, wage deductions, surveillance, denial of privacy, and restricted communication can all occur without oversight.

So what can be done to make these situations more visible and safer for workers?

The Overseas Domestic Worker visa
I came to the UK on a domestic work visa. A six-month visa, which you cannot renew. A visa sponsored by my employer, who was also in charge of my living conditions, my access to information and my immigration status. I understood the imbalance of power.

When I had to make a life-altering decision to flee my oppressive circumstances, I was trapped. I never had permission to apply for other job roles. I was only allowed to do domestic work in a private household. And let's ask ourselves: who will employ someone to work in their household when they have just months, or even weeks, left on their visa? This barrier makes you vulnerable to your employers and leaves you at risk of being exploited and re-trafficked.

Decision-making delays and precarity
Another issue is the damage caused by waiting too long for protection and stability. When someone escapes exploitation, the system often places them into a long period of uncertainty. Decisions about their status, support, and future can take months, and sometimes years.

During this time, people are expected to recover from severe trauma while living with continued instability and fear. Waiting is not neutral. It has its own consequences.

While waiting for decisions in their trafficking, asylum or immigration cases, many survivors are not allowed to work. This can deepen feelings of isolation, loss of dignity, and a lack of control over their own future.

For survivors of exploitation, the ability to work safely is not just about income. It is about restoring autonomy and rebuilding identity after a period of control and abuse.

Family reunification
However, the most profound impact of long waiting periods is often felt within families. Many survivors of trafficking and labour exploitation are parents, like myself. Our children may be living in another country, sometimes for many years. The emotional burden of separation is immense.

Parents live with constant worry about their children’s wellbeing, while children grow up without the stability of their parent’s presence. This separation can become a form of ongoing trauma long after the exploitation itself has ended. So the question is: what can we do?

Family reunification should not be treated simply as an optional or compassionate gesture.

It should be recognised as a core part of recovery and safeguarding. Family separation does not only affect the survivor. It affects the entire family system, often crossing borders and leaving long-lasting scars.

Recovery from exploitation cannot fully begin while a family remains divided. Family reunification can also play an important role in preventing further vulnerability. When survivors have stability, family support, and the ability to rebuild their lives, the risk of re-exploitation is reduced.

An agenda for change
If we are serious about tackling modern slavery, we must look beyond rescue and identification.

We should end the use of restrictive, temporary visas that tie workers to specific employers or sectors. These can leave workers trapped in exploitation when abuse occurs, unable to enforce their employment rights.

We must focus on what allows survivors to truly recover and move forward. This means addressing the consequences of prolonged waiting. It means ensuring survivors have the right to work while their cases are being resolved, so they can rebuild independence and dignity. It means recognising family reunification not as a discretionary policy decision but as a key part of recovery and long-term protection.

Find out more about our lived experience experts, the ATLEU Changemakers.