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THEY say that one swallow does not make a summer, but now that we've seen one in the case of Nirmala Bonat, it could be taken as a sign that the days of turning a blind judicial eye to maid abuse are over. Taken together with the other pending cases of a similar nature, there is a sense that the wind may be blowing in the right direction. It is certainly past time to throw the book at the abusers.

That said, however, whatever the symbolic significance of this legal breakthrough, it remains a blot on our record that it has been marked for far too long by the lack of court action against the perpetrators. In any event, while the judge may have delivered a verdict in the four-year-old case, with a stay of execution and an appeal against the sentence, it could take years before it comes to a final conclusion. The fact that the legal process is painfully slow means the jury is still out as far as the deterrent effect of such punitive punishment is concerned. Moreover, given the sheer numbers -- every year, 1,000 seek refuge in the shelter for abused workers at the Indonesian embassy alone -- it would be unrealistic to expect the courts to deliver swift justice. The sad reality is that with some 400,000 foreign maids in our midst, according to one estimate, we will never get to see the full iceberg of abuses and only a minority of employers will ever be prosecuted and punished because of the constraints on the court's time and resources.

That being the case, we have to look elsewhere if we are serious about lifting our fingers to help the maids in distress. In the wake of what we know, it's become increasingly clear that it's not just the few rotten apples among the employers that need to be removed, it's the whole barrel of inadequate policies and procedures that leave maids at the mercy of their employers that also needs to be addressed. As it is, the domestic workers are vulnerable to exploitation because they are excluded from the protection that is provided under the labour laws. Admittedly, however, legislating terms and conditions for working hours, days off and wages, is no silver bullet. Nevertheless, if employers remain insensitive and indifferent to the needs of those who cook, clean and mind their children, it is the duty of government to look out for the domestic helpers. It is imperative to do everything possible to make their working and living conditions better.

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