Project information
Start date: 1 March 2012
End date: 28 February 2015
Location: Kampala, Uganda
The Challenge
Domestic workers are among the most vulnerable, marginalised and lowest paid in the informal employment sector. Recruited from the poorest rural locations to work for families in cities far from home, they lack support networks, education and the means to access their rights. The continuous ‘invisibility and hidden’ nature of their work and cultural biases against women and girls have relegated them to conditions of exploitation. Women and girl domestic workers face long working hours, restricted mobility, lack of privacy and no access to information. They earn low incomes, lack health care, suffer economic, sexual and psychological violence.
Our project
Based in Kampala this project aimed to promote gender equality and enable domestic workers to access their rights. With our partner PLA, we supported women and girls to access legal aid, education and training. By the end of the project, 7,114 domestic workers had accessed legal services and improved their knowledge of their rights.
“I have become a peer coordinator, built on my confidence and I command respect in my community. When a domestic worker faces a challenge, I can ably initiate discussion between the worker and employer. I have a very good relationship with the Local Council officials. I am leader of a self help group in which we collect money for savings and we plan to start a chicken rearing project.”
Project funders
Funded by Comic Relief, Trusts and other supporters