Ending violence and harassment at work

Wednesday 25 November, the world celebrated the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women which marked the beginning of The 16 Days of Activism campaign against Gender-Based Violence. The annual international campaign will run for 16 Days until 10 December, the Human Rights Day. It was started by activists at the inaugural Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991. It is used as an organising strategy by individuals and organisations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. In support of this civil society initiative, CARE calls for global universal actions to increase awareness, galvanize advocacy efforts, and share knowledge and innovations.

Workplace violence and harassment is widespread around the world; no country and no industry is exempt. The World Bank’s report “Women, Business and the Law 2018” found that 59 out of 189 economies had no specific legal provisions covering sexual harassment in employment. The recent # Me Too movement and the # Time’s Up initiative too have elevated the awareness of the prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace and inspired many organizations and business leaders to recognize gender-based violence and sexual harassment as critical business issues. Poor and marginalised women are often engaged in precarious jobs where they are particularly exposed to abuse and exploitation with little access to protection, and where they depend on their pay to survive and support their families.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how violence and harassment are systemic in the world of work including gender-based violence particularly within the informal economy. There is need for a coordinated global response. Now, more than ever, it is urgent to ratify and implement this ILO Convention 190 on Violence and Harassment, a global law focused specifically on preventing violence and harassment in the world of work. More than one-third of countries in the world do not have any laws prohibiting sexual harassment at work and there is no international legal standard to specifically protect women at work from harassment and abuse yet violence and harassment costs lives and economies.

CARE aims to ensure that women are safe, respected and valued in the world of work. CARE supported the adoption of the ILO Convention on Violence and Harassment which was formally adopted at the International Labour Conference in June 2019. Together with Recommendation No. 206, it provides a common framework for action and a unique opportunity to shape a future of work based on dignity and respect. It includes the first international definition of violence and harassment in the world of work, including gender-based violence. C190/R206 explicitly recognized the profound impact of domestic violence in the workplace, and calls on governments and employers to address its impact on worker safety, dignity and health and its broader effects on the full and equal participation of women in the economy and society.

Women who are the primary targets of domestic abuse have struggled to protect themselves and their children, often while attempting to continue working or weathering recent unemployment in an unsafe home. For many women around the world, including child care workers, in-home healthcare workers, cleaners and other domestic workers, as well as many small enterprise handcrafters, a home already was their workplace. During the COVID-19 pandemic period in Kenya; CARE through the Women’s Voice and Leadership project has supported local women organizations to ensure young girls are not exposed to sexual and gender-based violence through adapting to different approaches and interventions such as using local radio stations to broadcast gender based violence, COVID and mental health.

Under the WVL project the Centre for Livelihood Advancement - CFLA, a women rights organization for domestic workers embarked on addressing sexual harassment and COVID with one simple idea. The idea was to distribute branded sanitizers with an emergency toll number. When one called, a domestic worker would receive relief through counselling and support. This went a long way in flattening both the COVID 19 curve and gender based violence in the world of work.

Employers should take into account factors that can increase the likelihood of violence and harassment against employees even where it may be committed by a member of the public. This should be anchored by an ILO Convention on ending violence and harassment at the workplace that includes equal application to individuals of any gender identity, while requiring gender sensitive implementation in light of the unequal power relations between men and women and widespread discrimination against women.

The writer, Philippa Crosland –Taylor is the CARE Kenya Country Director.