Domestic workers in Lebanon are killing themselves to escape abuse...

One domestic worker on average commits suicide each month in Lebanon, according to a leading NGO that deals with domestic violence and human rights. There are no available statistics on domestic worker suicides in Lebanon since police do not keep categorized records, but KAFA, a feminist, secular non-profit organization in Lebanon, used media records to estimate that an average of one domestic worker kills herself each month.

Records kept by KAFA show that at least 7–10 recorded cases of suicide by domestic workers have occurred since 2010, but the numbers are likely much higher.

“Actually it is happening at least once a month and those are just the reported cases,” Maya Ammar, the Communications Coordinator at KAFA told ThinkProgress. “When stuck in a situation with no form of support, suicide becomes an option.

One of the last cases that received media coverage was that of G. Joudy, an Ethiopian maid who worked in northern Lebanon and committed suicide in late June by drinking a poisonous substance. Full story...

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