In a recent opinion piece for the Mexican newspaper El Universal, columnist Leslie Jiménez Urzúa examines a troubling pattern in how society reacts when a domestic worker — commonly referred to in Spanish as “la empleada” — is the victim of violence, abuse, or exploitation.
The piece points to a recurring dynamic: when someone in a position of privilege causes harm, and the person harmed is a domestic employee, the case often gets treated with less urgency, less empathy, or outright suspicion toward the victim herself. This reflects broader inequalities embedded in Mexican society, where paid domestic work — historically performed by women, often from lower-income or Indigenous backgrounds — has long been undervalued and poorly protected by labor law.
The column uses this framing to raise larger questions about class, gender, and whose suffering is taken seriously by employers, institutions, and the public at large. It suggests that language itself — reducing a person to her job title, “la empleada,” rather than treating her as an individual — can be part of how dehumanization happens before a single act of violence even occurs.
For the author’s full argument and specific examples she raises, read the original column at El Universal.
Source: Cuando la víctima es “la empleada” (eluniversal.com.mx). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: Alfred T. Palmer..