A/78/180 women migrants. Women migrants tend to be disproportionately concentrated in informal work and unregulated sectors or isolated occupations in which various forms of abuses are common, such as physical, sexual and psychological violence, including intimidation, harassment, exploitation and threats at work. 59 Owing to gaps in legislation, exploitative policies, or threats of gender-based violence, women migrant domestic workers may be bound by “live-in requirements” that compel them to stay at their employer’s residence, isolating them in such a way that they may not be able to access complaint and redress systems. 60 Women also face stigma and fear of being ostracized when they press charges, especially if the abuses involve sexual violence, 61 and are thus less likely to report abuses.62 Women migrants face particular forms of reprisals, including gender-based violence and harassment, and have limited legal recognition and protection impeding them from recognizing their right to access to justice.63 51. Retaliation or threats of retaliation from employers and recruiters is one of the major concerns for migrant workers who have reported being intimidated and threatened when they face employers and recruiters in court or mediation, 64 thus becoming forced or coerced to accept a lower remedy offer or drop their cases altogether. Employers may falsely accuse migrant workers of theft, malpractice and other crimes that put them at risk of detention and deportation. 65 For example, in Hong Kong (China), in 14 out of 35 cases where domestic workers brought a complaint to the labour tribunal, the employer filed a counterclaim,66 and in Jordan, counterclaims impact workers’ genuine complaints of abuse and exploitation because judges assume that workers may be lying. 67 52. International labour conventions call for cooperation between the labour inspectorate and immigration authorities. The main objective of the former is to protect the rights of all workers and to improve their working conditions, rather than the enforcement of immigration law. 68 Loss of employment often means loss of work and residence permit, especially when work and residence permits are linked and tied to one employer. This leaves migrant workers vulnerable to irregularity, and subsequent repatriation or deportation. Lack of and loss of documented status places migrant workers in an irregular situation where they may have to endure abuse or to find other employers instead of bringing a claim and accessing their right to justice. The enforcement of legal rights is often acutely difficult for migrant workers, especially vulnerable to abusive conditions, who may have the perception that enforcing rights may affect residence rights. 69 __________________ 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 16/21 Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions, The Price of Justice, Migrant Domestic Workers’ Experience of Trying to Resolve Labour Disputes in Hong Kong (Hong Kong, 2019). See clause 3 of the Hong Kong (China) standard employment contract for a domestic helper recruited from outside Hong Kong. Available at: www.immd.gov.hk/eng/forms/forms/id407.html. Sarah Paoletti, Eleanor Taylor-Nicholson, Bandita Sijapati, and Bassina Farbenblum, Migrant Workers Access to Justice at Home: Nepal (Open Society Foundations, 2014). See E/CN.4/1998/74/Add.1. ILO, Fair recruitment and access to justice for migrant workers (Geneva, 2022). Available at https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---migrant/documents/ publication/wcms_850615.pdf. Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions, The Price of Justice, Migrant Domestic Workers’ Experience of Trying to Resolve Labour Disputes in Hong Kong. Saraswathi, “Huroob, runaway, absconding: trapping migrants in extreme abuse” (see footnote 36). Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions, The Price of Justice, Migrant Domestic Workers’ Experience of Trying to Resolve Labour Disputes in Hong Kong. Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions, The Price of Justice, Migrant Domestic Workers’ Experience of Trying to Resolve Labour Disputes in Hong Kong. ILO, Promoting Fair Migration: General Survey Concerning the Migrant Workers Instruments (Geneva, 2016), paras. 477 and 482. Ibid. 23-13823