Many of the hundreds of thousands of domestic workers face abuse in the homes in which they work. Josefina, who has been a maid herself, has been fighting for the rights of domestic workers since she was a teenager. In 1994 she founded Yanapanakusun, an organisation that runs a home for vulnerable girls and a centre for domestic workers.

Josefina and Yanapanakusun run courses and do preventive work in 30 villages in the Andes mountain range around Cusco. They also broadcast five radio shows and run a hotel, a farm and a school for girls and boys who work. 500 girls have lived in the home. Tens of thousands have received support and help from the drop-in centre. Josefina gives the girls food, clothes, shoes, healthcare, a home, the chance to go to school, security and love. More than anything else, however, she works to ensure that child workers know their rights and are able to demand respect for those rights.

Learn more about Josefina in the Globe Magazine from 2008:

Text: Johanna Hallin Photos: Tora Mårtens

The facts and figures on this page were accurate at the time of writing, in 2008