Dubai: What triggers a violent streak in a maid?
According to Mary John, Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Dubai Community Health Centre, estrangement from one’s family and being in an unfamiliar environment can result in many imbalances.
“A maid is someone who has had to leave her family, her country and come to work in a subservient position, take orders and does not have a right to question. There is a certain level of self-respect, pride and dignity in every person and when that is crossed or challenged it can trigger any kind of negative response. It also depends on the personal threshold of an individual. If the maid is someone who is passive by nature, she might have a greater capacity to accept and absorb negative behaviour. On the other hand, if she is already feeling very raw and isolated, she might not be able to take verbal abuse. Having said, that, I would say violence of this kind is a very extreme step. The maid may want to leave or complain to her consulate or in the worst cases abscond. However, those who take very violent steps may be already suffering from some serious emotional imbalance.”
