The document details poor working conditions and forced sexual acts against the workers’ will.
A recent report titled “I Learned to Say No,” published by the international organization Human Rights Watch (HRW), has highlighted the vulnerable conditions and abusive work faced by many women who work as webcam models. The 175-page document is the result of 18 months of research in Colombia, in collaboration with two organizations led by sex workers in the country, and includes dozens of interviews with workers in the sector and visits to the headquarters of companies dedicated to this activity. .
The report highlights that some of these women work up to 18 hours a dayface fines for breaks or basic needs like going to the bathroom and suffer verbal and physical abuse. According to Erin Kilbride, researcher and lead author of the report, “sexual exploitation is not inherent to webcam modelingbut it is a place where multiple forms of labor exploitation can easily occur.”
In Colombia, where numerous platforms offer this type of online services operate, many women, especially young people, are attracted to this industry due to the lack of opportunities and access to the formal labor market. However, HRW documented that a large number of these workers sign contracts without fully knowing the conditions under which they will provide their services or their labor rights.
This situation facilitates abuses. “In many of these cases, this lack of informed consent It left models without the essential information they needed to ensure they were paid fairly and could make effective decisions about their work hours, breaks, and which client requests to accept.. In some cases, this led to wage theft, coercion, sexual exploitation and labor exploitation,” the report states.
The document also highlights that these women face unhygienic conditions and pressure to perform sexual acts on camera without consentwhich constitutes a serious violation of their human and labor rights. Given this situation, HRW recommends the Colombian Government and webcam modeling platforms implement measures that guarantee decent work and respect the rights of these workers.
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A bill to regulate this type of work has been presented in the Colombian Congress, but the initiative has not yet been approved. Meanwhile, the The Government has not officially commented on the HRW report. Minister Gloria Ramírez has stated on several occasions that the labor reform that is currently being discussed in Congress seeks to guarantee fair and dignified conditions for all workers on digital platforms.
