Family Bonds: Kinship Reciprocity, Female Teenage Trafficking and Domestic Labor Exploitation in Peru

Author: Pérez, Leda & Freier, Luisa Feline

Abstract: In this article we share the findings resulting from interviews with 25 female domestic workers in Lima between August and December of 2016. We argue that the experiences of these workers, who migrate from the provinces to the capital city of Lima as minors, frequently qualify them as victims of human trafficking – not because they are forced to move or deceitfully recruited, but due to their exploitation as adolescent domestic workers. We also analyze the drivers behind teenage female migration to Lima to work in the domestic sector under abusive conditions and offer future policy directions.

Keywords: trafficking, internal migration, kinship, domestic work