BEIRUT, Lebanon, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Human rights activists are calling for a closer investigation into the deaths of immigrant domestic workers in Lebanon.
Human Rights Watch said Tuesday that the Lebanese government needed to scrutinize the workplace conditions that contribute to a death rate of about one person per week from suicide or falls from buildings.
"All those involved … need to ask themselves what is driving these women to kill themselves or risk their lives to escape from high buildings," it said.
The organization said in a written statement that since January 2007, 95 migrant domestics have died in Lebanon. Of those, only 14 deaths resulted from health issues. The rest were either from falls or suicide.
The women, many from Nepal or the Philippines, are frequently kept virtually prisoners in their employer's home and subject to physical abuse, the statement said.
