Domestic worker safety in the spotlight

DOMESTIC workers and gardeners often spend more time in our homes than we do said Corne Broodryk on Tuesday. The community liaison officer for Blue Security conducted a safety workshop at  St Michael’s Anglican Church for the people we entrust with our houses while we’re away during the day.

There have been numerous incidents over recent months in which domestic workers have been caught in the cross-hairs of armed robbers who break into homes during the day. Often times the worker is held at gunpoint or sometimes they may be assaulted and left traumatised.

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“They are a critical element when it comes to proactive prevention of crime and we need to be partnering more with our domestics because they see things we don’t and they often don’t know what to do with the information,” he explained.

According to Broodryk, the community workshops are meant to empower people by giving them tips for daily life, adding, “We talk to them about situations when they go to work, while they’re at work and when they are returning home. These are times in the day when people are so focused on what they need to do, that criminals use this to their advantage.”

ALSO READ: Armed men storm Durban North home

He said that the workshops inform domestic workers and gardeners what to do if something goes wrong: what to report, how to report it and who to report it to.

Just last week, a house in Soofie Saheb Drive was stormed and ransacked by a gang robbers who held up and accosted the home owner, domestic worker and gardener. The trio’s heads were covered and they were led by the gang members into a room while items were stolen.

ALSO READ: Domestic worker robbed on Eastview Road

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