The hidden form of labor exploitation: domestic servitude during COVID-19

Illustration: https://umdgenderandglobalization.wordpress.com/

The pandemic had unforeseen impacts in many countries and different groups of people experience it differently. One of the most impacted groups were domestic workers, especially those who are being exploited in domestic servitude.

More than 30 million people are currently exploited in labor; children are also affected by this phenomenon, and the most common type of labor exploitation is that of children living and working on the streets, said the Prosecutor of the State Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sena Uzunović, at the Specialized Mentoring Session for Representatives of Local Teams implemented by Citizens’ Association Atina in five cities of the Republic of Serbia - Šabac, Niš, Vranje, Sremska Mitrovica and Subotica.

Exploited workers in Europe’s slaughterhouses

Photograph: https://www.canva.com/

Meat factories in Europe have been exposed as one of the most infections hotspots for COVID-19. Researchers, journalists, and activists are concerned that this is related to exploitative working conditions, which were made worse by the pandemic. Inadequate housing and low wages in the leading European meat producing countries, such as Germany, are the likeliest explanation for the outbreaks.

Labor exploitation of truck drivers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Photograph: www.ttnews.com

International federation of trade unions recently released a report about how contracted foreign drivers from low-wage countries were being exploited by the transport industry.

Impact of COVID-19 on labor exploitation of migrants at Europe’s farmlands

The pandemic and child labor

On the occasion of the World Day against trafficking in Persons, the Council of Europe Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) joins the Inter-agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (UN-ICAT) in calling for additional support to frontline professionals detecting and assisting victims of human trafficking (

Photo: Personal archive

Photo: Personal archive

Two meetings were held in Vranje, between representatives of the Local Team for Prevention and Combating Human Trafficking, Citizens' Association Atina and their partners, aimed to introduce the entire team to the project itself and planned activities, as well as to determine current local capacities and response mechanisms in cases of labor exploitation.

The summer school “Young refugees as actors for social inclusion and intercultural dialogue” was organized with the support of the Council of Europe Youth Department, Global Platform for Syrian Students, Kiron Open Higher Education for Refugees, and Voice of Young Refugees in Europe. The course was held at the end of August 2017, at the University of Minho in Braga, Portugal, and brought together more than 60 young refugees from Europe, students in forced mobility, and activists who are providing direct support to refugees.