Data · dataset · 2026
The New Bonded Labour?
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This report concludes that it would be highly dangerous to eliminate the protections currently provided in the UK for Migrant Domestic Workers (MDWs).
Description
Doing so would effectively legalise their abuse and exploitation. Ultimately, it would allow and encourage forced labour.
This is against the Home Office's stated policies to protect victims of trafficking. MDWs are extremely vulnerable to abuse and need to be protected in ways which would be impossible, were the 'domestic assistant' visa to be implemented. It is our belief that migration must work for the workers, and that the proposed system of a modified business visitor visa will not work for MDWs.