The complaints over the treatment of Cambodian women has surged after the number of Cambodian maids working in Malaysia rose sharply in recent years, jumping from a few thousand three years ago to between 40,000 and 50,000 maids in late 2011, according to figures from Malaysian human rights group Tenaganita.
Malaysian demand for Cambodian maids increased after Indonesia banned sending its workers there in June 2009, following a string of high-profile abuse cases. Until then, Indonesia supplied most of the approximately 300,000 foreign domestic workers in Malaysia, one of the wealthiest nations in Southeast Asia, where cheap foreign labor is in high demand.
As the flow of Cambodian maids to Malaysia grew, so did the number of complaints of abuse.