Child domestic work is one of the most disturbing features of Filipino life. It is disturbing because of its very nature - domestic work performed by a child, increasingly by very young girls, some as young as 8 years old, isolated and separated from their families. It is also disturbing because of the high incidence of deceptive recruitment and trafficking that characterize it. Finally, it is disturbing because of the very exploitative work conditions that also make these children vulnerable to sexual abuse.

In 1995, the National Statistics Office found that there were at least 766,000 domestic workers in the Philippines. Of these, at least 301,701 were 19 years old or younger. 6 As the surveying government agency cautioned, however, these figures refer to paid domestic workers: this does not include children who work in exchange for room and board, or for the chance to study.

It is difficult to count how many child domestic workers there are. In the first place, labor force and employment statistics gathered by the government capture only those who are at least 15 years old.7 In the second place, enterprises employing 10 or less are classified in the informal sector.8 Nor is either domestic work or domestic workers included in the industries and occupations of the informal sector. In addition, employers and their domestic worker s who are kin do not report employment, and neither do employers who pay their child domestic workers in the form of schooling or room and board instead of cash. In short, child domestic workers are statistically invisible.