Employing children as domestic workers is socially and culturally accepted in Bangladesh society. With slavery as its historical root,domestic work is an old occupation not only for adults but increasingly now for girl children. While societies changed, the home and nature of work along with terms and conditions of such jobs have changed too, but the situation for them remain essentially the same in the modern globalised world they are bound by the same rules in different forms.

The hidden nature of domestic work means it often escapes the reach of the law and heightens the risk of abuse for workers at the hands of their employers. Even where legal protections do exist, they are often little known and poorly implemented. Domestic workers tend to be unrecognized, under-paid and unable to access complaints procedures.

At the backdrop of the above reality, Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) and Save the Children Sweden-Denmark have jointly conducted the study titled “Living inside room outside law”.

If the findings and recommendations of this study make minimum contribution to bring
the positive changes in the lives of the four lacs (BBS and UNICEF report, 2006) child domestic workers, our endeavor will be considered successful.
Sultana Kamal
Executive Director
Ain o Salish Kendra

”The main objective of this report is to draw the attention of the external audience including government and civil society representatives to the issues of child domestic workers and to make recommendations to the government and the civil society for protecting the rights of the child domestic workers.

I hope this document will inspire others to join in our effort to protect child domestic workers and solve the challenges they are facing on a daily basis.”
Birgit Lundbak, 

Country Director
Save the Children Sweden Denmark

A Study on Child Domestic Worker and the Role of Government and Civil Society