Domestic help in the UAE: Maid for trouble?

It could be ill treatment or mental illness that leads a human being to the point of a violent breakdown and force him/her to take lives of innocent children.

Khaleej Times explores the maladies affecting domestic help in the UAE and finds caution, awareness and a change in attitude are needed

For children, their caregivers are the people in whom they place their utmost trust. And if that trust is broken, it could forever impact their lives psychologically and physically.

A recent case in which a maid allegedly attacked three young children of her employer with a cleaver and poured boiling hot water over them shocked the nation. She reportedly claimed that she was being ill treated by her employers.

This is not the first time that such a case has hit the headlines. Earlier this year, a maid allegedly strangled an 11-month-old infant after she was refused a leave by her employers.

In the UAE, most maids are not trained nannies. Besides looking after children, they are also burdened with other household chores, which is why most of them complain of being overworked.

In 2012, 1,258 crimes involving maids were recorded in Dubai alone. In 2011, 1,395 similar crimes were recorded and in 2010, 1,276 were reported.

According to the police, crimes involving housemaids went up 20 per cent in 2009 as compared to 2008. In 2009, 451 crimes involving housemaids were recorded, up from 341 in 2008. In these cases, 17 children were assaulted by the domestic workers.

Police said 13 cases of assault on children were recorded in 2013 compared to three in 2012.

Residents and psychiatrists opine that psychiatric evaluation (psychometric assessments) of domestic workers before they are recruited from abroad will be a good prevention method.

“Anyone involved with children needs to be assessed for mental soundness,” says Dr Hany Shafey, consultant psychiatrist at Mediclinic, The Dubai Mall. “Parents need to know the background of the person who is around their children 24 hours.”

There is a combination of several factors that may bring the domestic help to a breaking point; delay in paying salaries, low salaries, increased workload, long working hours and serving big families as well as verbal and physical abuse can push maids over the edge. “It may be chronic mental illness that the maid may have before coming into the country including mania and depression or ill-treatment meted out by employers here,” Dr Shafey says.

The UAE law requires medical testing for infectious diseases for domestic help but it does not include mental assessments.

According to the police, the solution for such crimes starts from good treatment. Currently, the country is working to ensure protection and rights of all people. The government has made employment contracts mandatory to ensure that the housemaids and domestic workers get salaries, housing and health care due to them.

Maids’ grievances

Common complaints by maids range from being made to overwork, being underpaid and underfed, being denied opportunities to visit their families in their home countries and physical abuse, among others.

Sara, an Indonesian maid, says that she works all week without a leave. This, she says, leaves her stressed.

Another maid says her employer sexually harassed her because of which she had to flee and find work on a part-time basis.

Another domestic help says she is underpaid and is not provided medical care when needed.

Why maids lose it

For a domestic help to lose composure and become so violent as to attack innocent children cannot be happening overnight, explains Dr Shafey. He says there could be different reasons for such behaviour. “If a mental issue is discovered, the patient should be assessed by a psychiatrist. The patient will probably be put on anti-psychotic drugs.”

However, high treatment costs may hamper treatment in the UAE; 30 tablets to treat psychosis cost Dh700. “Usually, the treatment may have to be continued for years. Sometimes, the patient may need to be hospitalised,” says Dr Shafey. “Also, it may not be wise to let a sick person continue caring for children. Hence, it is advisable that the patients return to their home countries to continue uninterrupted treatment.”

Dr Shafey says there is an urgent need to provide medical insurance for psychiatric issues. “Psychiatric illnesses should be mandatorily covered by insurance ... by 2020 mental illnesses will be the leading causes of disability in the world ... (which will) severely affect productivity.”

Training and call centre

Dubai resident Dr Nishi Chatterjee, who runs a children’s book club in Bur Dubai, knows a few alarming stories when it comes to employer-domestic help equations. She feels that all maids who are hired through agencies should necessarily be trained in first aid.

“Housemaids in Dubai may need more of psychological help and support than psychiatric evaluation before employment, as they generally come from unprivileged backgrounds and often find themselves in tough and demanding situations. Sometimes they even have to adjust with unsympathetic employers. In rare circumstances, driven to extreme situation, maids commit crimes, and that has become a serious concern in society,” she said.

To address this situation, Dr Chatterjee says, “There should be a government-owned ‘maids call centre’ or an NGO for maids — where maids can call if they feel stuck in some difficult situations. Such organisations may even commercially provide maid training services for employers, which potentially can even become a legal requirement or regulation as followed in certain other countries like Singapore.”

Treat them well

Watch out for

Changes in mood — From loving to sad to being depressed and irritable.

Bizarre behaviour

Talking to herself

Day dreaming

Change in emotions and facial expressions

Other drastic mood swings

She may be using drugs/alcohol and could be under pathological intoxication, which means that even small amounts may cause violent reactions.