Many domestic workers in the United Arab Emirates say their employers beat them with sticks or cables, punch and slap them, and there's little they can do because they are excluded from the country's labour-law protections, according to a rights group.
The abuse complaints are rampant throughout the wealthy region, which relies on foreign labour.
Human Rights Watch said the problem was that the migrant workers' residency was tied to their employers through a sponsorship system that prevented them from easily changing jobs.
It cited passport confiscation, non-payment of wages, excessive work, forced confinement, food deprivation and psychological, physical and sexual abuse.
The New York-based advocacy group said the report was based on interviews with 99 women domestic workers, recruitment agents and UAE employers. Six had been sexually assaulted or harassed.