Pinay migrants should learn self-defense - NGO

Female migrant workers, especially domestic helpers, need to learn the art of self-defense to avoid abuse, especially attempts of rape by their male employers, a Manila-based organization of migrant workers and their families said Tuesday.

“Rape and physical abuse are real daily threats against domestic helpers inside the homes of their employers in various destination countries," said Ma. Fe Nicodemus, executive director of Kapisanan ng mga Kamag-anak ng mga Migranteng Manggagawang Pilipino, Inc. (Kakammpi).

“Female workers should be taught martial arts to prepare themselves," she said in an interview.Bill Hyde, International Organization for Migration (IOM) deputy representative for the Asia-Pacific region, noted that the volume of women migrants has dramatically increased over the years and the number of incidents of rape and physical abuses have also risen.

Hyde said that domestic workers can prepare in advance against rape and other forms of physical abuse.In his introduction to the IOM’s documentary entitled, “The power to choose self-defense for women migrant workers," Hyde said victims of rape have suffered so much in silence.Because the possibility of rape is real, “domestic helpers must plan in advance; they must be aware and be safe," he said. Nicodemus said that many rape victims who sought Kakammpi’s help told her they were in torment. “They are anxious, confused and helpless.
They can’t tell their parents, or children, or husbands they were raped.

Every time they called home they had to pretend they were okay."The IOM’s documentary, however, made it clear that martial arts for domestic helpers must be used for the sole intention of avoiding dangerous situations, and not to fight.“The true meaning of martial arts is to stop the sword even before it is unsheathed. Self-defense is to avoid a dangerous situation," the IOM’s documentary film said. - Luis Gorgonio, GMANews.TV

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