Human Rights in Canada

Issue:

This article is about a Filipino woman who worked as a nanny for a couple in Richmond, British Columbia. The nanny was made to work as a slave; her employers sexually assaulted her, they isolated her & also underfed her. Eventually when the nanny could not tolerate this situation further, she escaped her employers by running away from them. The nanny went to RCMP, eventually the case landed in B.C.’s Human Rights Tribunal.

Affected:

As mentioned in the article, Filipino woman who worked as a nanny for a couple is the person affected. She was isolated, verbally abused, sexually assaulted, underfed & treated like she was sub-human. She went through a lot of physical & mental torture during her employment, after reaching her tolerance limit, she eventually ran away from her employers.

Central Purpose of this Article:

The main purpose of this article is to increase awareness in people about Human Rights Legislation in Canada. This article portrays the power of the Human Rights Legislation & also the importance of a provincial Human Rights Tribunal which delivered justice to the Filipino nanny as well as to her employers who tortured her physically as well as mentally. This case also sets a benchmark in Human Rights cases in Canada, as the ruling is one of the largest awards in the tribunal’s history. This article is also important from an organization’s or as an employer’s perspective as more awareness about Human Rights code will help the employers in forming good organizational policies covering the Human Rights code.

Important Information in this Article:

The nanny was hired through an employment agency in Hong Kong. She was brought to Canada to continue working for her employers; she was paid just $600 per month to work from 5.30 am to 11 pm. This shows violation of minimum wage code & working hours under employment standards act. The nanny was forced to stroke the male genital organ of her employer. This is direct sexual assault on the nanny. She was made to stand & eat her food; also whenever she sat down her wages were docked. These are direct violations under the human rights code. Her employers called her names like “garbage”, “evil” & “stupid”; this is direct verbal abuse for the nanny. The nanny used a trip to the garbage as a ruse to run away & escape from her employers, she had no money with her, no passport, no extra clothing, no toiletries & no eyeglasses. The nanny also did not know anyone in Canada when she ran away & escaped from her employers. Nanny went to seek help from RCMP, eventually she made her way to a Vancouver safe house for women who have been victims of sexual exploitation or human trafficking. Ultimately the BC Human Rights Tribunal delivered justice for the nanny on the grounds that nanny was sexually assaulted & discriminated as she was a Filipino. Finally, nanny was awarded $5,866.89 for wages she made during her stay with the employers; also the tribunal ordered the employers to pay nanny another $50,000 for injury to dignity, feelings & self-respect.