Exploring Vulnerability and Resilience to Forced Labor among Ethiopian Domestic Workers in the Middle East

Research Professor Meredith Dank and Sheldon Zhang from the University of Massachusetts Lowell have received exploratory funding from the Freedom Fund to learn about the profiles and social-network characteristics that predispose some Ethiopian domestic workers to greater risk of being victimized by forced labor than others and what social-network support they have available to them. There is little empirical research on how these workers may encounter forced-labor situations and recognize and respond to these abusive labor conditions; such knowledge is critical in guiding efforts to develop countermeasures. Dank and Zhang aim to understand the migration process of Ethiopian women to the Middle East as domestic workers and test field procedures on how to maintain effective communication with a small panel of domestic workers, over 12 months from the start of their journey to the Middle East.