Over an 18-month period from mid-2020, Hope’s male supervisor at the hotel in Qatar where she worked repeatedly sexually propositioned her, she says. When she refused his advances, he gave her extra housework for no extra pay. “I was feeling low,” she says on the phone from her home in Kenya, where she returned early this year after her contract in Qatar expired. “Because when someone says things like that to you, you wonder, ‘why is he taking advantage of you?’ The plight of the tens of thousands of men who traveled thousands of miles to help build Qatar’s World Cup dream, and the exploitation many faced, has been widely documented. But rights groups say the problems faced by migrant women have not been explored or examined in the same way, and their voices have been largely absent from the debate on the rights of migrant women workers in the run-up to the tournament. Women working in the global hospitality industry are particularly vulnerable to sexual harassment and gender-based violence. A survey by the Unite union found that more than half of respondents had directly experienced sexual harassment and assault in their workplaces. Sexual harassment absolutely happens in hotelsIsobel Archer, Business and Human Rights Resource Center The Guardian and the Fuller Project spoke to five women, including Hope, who worked in different hotels in Qatar between 2017 and 2022 about their experiences. Details of allegations of sexual harassment and physical and verbal abuse. Most of these hotels are among the more than 100 now approved by FIFA, soccer’s governing body and tournament organizer. Testimony from women interviewed for this piece, as well as from experts who have worked extensively with female hospitality workers in Qatar, suggests that few feel empowered to report sexual harassment when it occurs. “We are very focused [men working in] construction and stadiums, as they are central to the tournament,” says Isobel Archer, director of the Gulf program at the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, a non-profit organization that has researched working conditions in Qatar’s hotels. “But [sexual harassment] it absolutely happens in hotels.” Although men dominate the country’s migrant workforce, government figures show nearly 300,000 female migrants were working in Qatar as of June this year. In 2020, migrant women made up just over a fifth of hotel workers, according to the most recent government statistics, although this is likely a significant undercount as the figures exclude subcontractors, rights groups say. To cope with the influx of 1.3 million football fans, an additional 108 hotels were built before the start of the tournament. Archer says high-profile sporting events are linked to an increase in violence against women, further increasing the risks faced by female hotel workers, and he expects the same to happen during the World Cup. He says urgent action must be taken by hotels, which will be packed with football fans, to protect women and allow them to safely report abuse without fear of repercussions. “I don’t think we’ve seen evidence of hotels doing anything, frankly, [to support women],” she says. “And [the women] I just won’t be able to talk.” Qatari representatives said the five women’s stories were extreme cases that were not the reality for millions of female workers. FIFA said it took any allegations of misconduct extremely seriously and had a clear process for anyone who wanted to report any such incident. While female hotel workers around the world face a disproportionate risk of gender-based violence compared to other industries, rights groups say those working in Qatar may find it particularly difficult to report abuse they may face. A report published this year by Equidem, a labor rights organization, said gender-based violence and harassment is “a fact of life for women” at some FIFA World Cup hotel partners. Equidem researchers contacted more than 800 migrant workers across the region, both men and women, but only 10% agreed to record their experiences. Some women, like Elpida, fear deportation. Others may have paid illegal and exorbitant recruitment fees, forcing them to remain in jobs with abusive conditions. Despite sweeping labor reforms in 2019, with immigrants now allowed to change jobs or leave the country without their employer’s permission, workers say little has changed. Employers still have enormous control over workers’ lives, and with migrant workers’ unions banned, there are few avenues for effective grievances. Migrant women who come to Qatar, mainly from Africa and Asia, are often the main breadwinner for their families. Many are reluctant to speak out for fear of losing those jobs, says Ann Abunda, founder of Sandigan, a Kuwait-based domestic workers’ organization. When she asked her network about harassment in Qatari hotels, more than a dozen women responded, either directly through social media or through her contacts in Qatar. The women told her there was no point in reporting harassment because employers were not acting and were outraged by the complaint. “[Women] I just don’t want to talk [publicly] for that,” says Abunda. “But they say it’s rampant.” The country’s penal code also criminalizes sex outside of marriage. Police often don’t believe women who report sexual violence, instead siding with men who claim it was consensual, which can lead to the survivor facing charges, says Rothna Begum, senior women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch . Facing further obstacles, all women in Qatar must show they are married to access certain forms of sexual and reproductive health care, Begum adds. This may include treatment for sexually transmitted infections, HIV and pregnancy. In an effort to address abuses, Qatar’s supreme commission monitors working conditions in hotels and last year launched an online platform for employee complaints. But rights groups say audits often miss serious abuses, as they only provide a snapshot of the situation and rely on input from workers. Women are also reluctant to report issues as sensitive as harassment. “Are you really going to reveal a breach against your body to a complete stranger during a corporate audit?” Archer says. “It’s just a very unlikely scenario.” Subscribe to Global Dispatch Get a different view of the world with a collection of the best news, features and images, curated by our global development team Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Qatar’s government said it would step up labor inspections during the tournament, including extra health and safety checks. Mustafa Qadri, executive director of Equidem, believes increased scrutiny next month will ensure a degree of protection for workers. But fundamental structural problems, such as the inability of migrant workers to organize and their lack of freedoms, will not have been adequately addressed when the world’s attention continues, he says. Hotels don’t create an environment for workers to talk, says Archer. Risk assessments need to be conducted to understand who their migrant workers are and what might make them more susceptible to gender-based violence, she says. Management must be trained to spot signs of harassment and communicate effectively with the entire workforce, particularly female subcontractors, who are often at higher risk. Hotels also need to be clear about the reporting process and next steps in terms of safeguarding as well as psychosocial and medical support. I don’t like getting close to strange men because you never know their intentions. It brings back the memory of Sally, a former hotel cleaner There are reports that restrictions on consensual sex and women’s access to reproductive services may be relaxed during the World Cup. If that happens, Begum says, the Qatari authorities must ensure it applies to all women, not just fans, inform all women of the changes and ensure they continue beyond the tournament. . In response to allegations of harassment, FIFA said it stands firm in its commitment to ensuring respect for internationally recognized human rights and takes allegations of misconduct seriously. The body also said it has a number of measures and reporting mechanisms in place for anyone wishing to make a complaint, including an employee welfare hotline. It added that it is implementing an “unprecedented due diligence process in relation to the protection of workers involved in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, in line with FIFA’s responsibility under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights”. A Qatari official said that anyone who files a complaint will be supported and their complaint will be fully investigated: “Qatar law prioritizes the safety and well-being of all women. Assault is criminalized under the penal code and access to justice is a guaranteed right for all through Qatar’s judicial system. Female expatriates play an important role in Qatar’s economy and society, and we do not tolerate any violation of the fundamental human rights of women or anyone in our country. As in all countries around the world, unfortunately, extreme cases occur and unscrupulous employers are a reality. But these extreme cases are not representative of the reality of life for millions of foreigners…
