[JURIST] Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] said Monday in a statement [press release] in anticipation of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women [advocacy website] that migrant and domestic workers still face abusive and exploitative treatment throughout Asia and the Middle East. The rights group observed that workers in several countries throughout the region, including millions of women, lack access to judicial systems, and often lack appropriate redress even when granted access. HRW added that the control that employers have over workers' visas increases the risk of abuse. Deputy director of the women's rights division of HRW Nisha Varia said:

There are countless cases of employers threatening, humiliating, beating, raping, and sometimes killing domestic workers. Governments need to punish abusive employers through the justice system, and prevent violence by reforming labor and immigration policies that leave these workers at their employers' mercy.