Campaign What is gender based- violence? There is no single universally agreed definition of gender- based violence (GBV). GBV can be any act of violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psycholog- ical harm or suffering to women and girls, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. GBV is a reflection of unequal power relations between women and men in society and at work. GBV is a serious human rights violation. For women journalists, violence and intimidation don’t just happen in conflict zones, they are everyday experiences. V iolence against women and girls is the most widespread and most tolerated violation of human rights. It occurs everywhere: at home, in schools, on the streets and at work. Only a few countries provide protection against gen- der-based violence in the workplace. An ILO Convention would help tackle that failing! Currently a proposal is under discussion at the ILO to agree on the adoption of a Convention on gender-based vio- lence at work. However we need to get a majority of government members of the ILO Governing Body to support the adoption of a Convention. This is the Governing body that can give the green light! Join the campaign!
Transcript
Campaign
What is gender based-violence?
There is no single universallyagreed definition of gender-based violence (GBV).
GGBBVV ccaann bbee aannyy aacctt ooff vviioolleenncceethat results in, or is likely to resultin, physical, sexual or psycholog-ical harm or suffering to womenand girls, including threats ofsuch acts, coercion or arbitrarydeprivation of liberty, wwhheetthheerrooccccuurrrriinngg iinn ppuubblliicc oorr iinn pprriivvaatteelliiffee..
GBV is a reflection of unequalpower relations between womenand men in society and at work.
GBV is a serious hhuummaann rriigghhttssvviioollaattiioonn..
Gender-based violence at work, whether occur-ring at the actual place of work, in the field oron the way to and from work, can take on mul-tiple forms such as: p Physical abuse including assault, battery,attempted murder and murder p Sexual violence including rape and sexualassault p Sexual harassment p Verbal and sexist abuse including onlineabusep Bullying p Coercion p Psychological abuse, intimidation and threatsof violence p Economic and financial abuse p Stalking
GBV at work affects women in many differentways.
A woman might lose her job for challenging aviolent colleague. She might lose her job due tobe being absent from work because of GBV.
She might be less able to concentrate, or workproductively, and her pay, position and jobsecurity may be threatened as a result.
A woman might ‘put up’ with violent behaviourout of desperation to keep her job. In the worstcases, GBV at work can contribute to the deathof a worker herself, or to the unborn child ofthe worker.
Journalists face greater risks
The risk of exposure to violence isoften greater in journalism andmedia, in particular where workis informal or precarious,where wages are low,where workers are
stopped from joining or forming trade unionsand where management accountability is low.
Journalism can be a dangerous profession. Inorder to cover breaking stories, journalists putthemselves in contexts of war, conflict and nat-ural disasters, while in order to report on cor-ruption, human rights abuses and political chi-canery, journalists often incur the wrath of themost powerful in society.
Women journalists who find themselves insuch situations are sometimes the specificfocus of violence.
Many women covering protests, for exampleduring the Arab uprisings, are subjected tophysical violence and sexual assaults.
An increasing number of women journalistsalso face threats and abuse online as a result
of their reporting. Harassmentof women online is at risk of
becoming “an establishednorm in our digital
society”, withwomen under 30
particularlyvulnerable.
The risk of exposure toviolence is often greaterin journalism and media,in particular where workis informal or precarious
Nearly half the 1,000 respondents in theresearch by the digital security firm Nortonhad experienced some form of abuse orharassment online. Among women under 30,the incidence was 76%.
Harassment ranged from unwanted contact,trolling, and cyberbullying to sexual harass-ment and threats of rape and death.
More than 25 percent of “verbal, writ-ten and/or physical intimidation
including threats to family orfriends” took place online. Digital
harassment and threats directed atwomen differ from those experienced by
men: they are misogynistic.
Domestic violence
In addition to GBV that happens at work,ddoommeessttiicc vviioolleennccee ccaann aallssoo ssppiillll oovveerr iinnttoo tthheewwoorrkkppllaaccee, for example through prolonged orfrequent absenteeism, poor concentration andproductivity, or even through being stalked atthe workplace by a violent partner. The World Health Organisation estimates that35% of women worldwide have experiencedeither physical and/or sexual intimate partnerviolence.
Economic Costs
GGBBVV aatt wwoorrkk hhaass aann eeccoonnoommiicc iimmppaacctt..Research over the past decade in India showsthat for each incidence of violence, womenlose an average of 7 working days.
A survey in Nicaragua and Chile reveals thatall types of violence reduce women’s earningsby US$29.5 million and US$1.56 billion annu-ally respectively – the equivalent of 2% ofGDP.
In just one Australian state, New South Wales,the cost of dealing with health care, legal,criminal, social welfare, employment, childand housing issues arising as a consequence
of domestic violence is put at US$1m a year. A US survey estimates that violence at workcosts the economy $1bn.
And given the scale of under-reporting thesefigures are probably artificially low.
Under-reported
Global Media Monitoring Project reports haveshown that news paints a picture of a worldin which women are virtually invisible. Womenare dramatically under-represented in thenews.
Only 24% of news subjects – the people whoare interviewed, or whom the news is about –are female. Women’s points of view are
Cyberbullying, rape threats, revengeporn — women are being harassed
online in almost “epidemic proportions”.
Journalist and UNICEF ambassador Tara Moss
rarely heard in the topics that dominate thenews agenda; even in stories that affectwomen profoundly, such as gender-based vio-lence, it is the male voice (64% of news sub-jects) that prevails. While the study found afew excellent examples of exemplary gender-balanced and gender-sensitive journalism, itdemonstrated aann oovveerraallll ggllaarriinngg ddeeffiicciitt iinn tthheenneewwss mmeeddiiaa gglloobbaallllyy, with half of the world’spopulation barely present.
Campaigning for change!
Trade unions, together with womens’ and femi-nist organisations and other civil society allies,are campaigning for a ground-breakingIInntteerrnnaattiioonnaall LLaabboouurr CCoonnvveennttiioonn on gender-based violence in the world of work.
Why there is a need for an ILO standardon GBV?
VViioolleennccee aaggaaiinnsstt wwoommeenn aanndd ggiirrllss iiss tthhee mmoossttwwiiddeesspprreeaadd aanndd mmoosstt ttoolleerraatteedd vviioollaattiioonn ooffhhuummaann rriigghhttss.. It occurs everywhere: at home,in schools, on the streets and at work. Only afew countries provide protection against gen-der based violence in the workplace. An ILOConvention would close this gap!
Workplaces are an important environment in
which to address violence. GBV in the world ofwork is one of the most important and wide-spread obstacles to women’s economic empow-erment, autonomy and independence – and tothe realisation of gender equality.
There is currently no internationally agreed lawthat deals with the many different forms of gen-der-based violence in the workplace.
Currently a proposal is under discussion at theILO to agree on the adoption of a Conventionon gender-based violence. However wwee nneeeeddttoo ggeett aa mmaajjoorriittyy ooff ggoovveerrnnmmeenntt mmeemmbbeerrss oofftthhee IILLOO GGoovveerrnniinngg BBooddyy ttoo ssuuppppoorrtt tthhee aaddoopp--ttiioonn ooff aa CCoonnvveennttiioonn..
Sexual harassment, psychological violence,threats, and bullying are common practices inthe workplace.
By ratifying an ILO Convention, governmentscommit to put their laws in compliance withthe standard. The enforcement of adequatelaws is crucial to prevent gender-based vio-lence at work. Trade unions play a key role toensure laws are enforced and rights arerespected!
An ILO Convention would send a strong mes-sage that vviioolleennccee iiss NNOOTT ppaarrtt ooff tthhee jjoobb..
It would help to give workers a voice to standup against gender- based violence, and negoti-ate collective agreements that address GBV. Itwould help workers and employers agree onpolicies to prevent and address GBV in theworkplace. It would empower women workersto take action.
Between 40 and 50 per cent of women expe-rience unwanted sexual advances, physicalcontact or other forms of sexual harassment atwork.
Join the Campaign!
p CCaallll aa mmeeeettiinngg with your government andpresent an official trade union statement witharguments in support of an ILO Convention ongender based violence
p CCoonnttaacctt ggoovveerrnnmmeenntt member(s) of the ILOGoverning Body - ask them to support aConvention
p SSeenndd ppoossttccaarrddss ttoo tthhee mmiinniisstteerrss of labourand women’s affairs and present a petitionsigned by a broad constituency includingwomen’s groups, human rights networks andunion members among others.
p FFoorrmm ccooaalliittiioonnss of trade unions, womens’and feminist groups and other civil societyallies to raise awareness of the impact of GBVat work and the forms that it takes.
p CCoolllleecctt ssttoorriieess from workers about how GBVat work affects them
p CCaallll mmeeeettiinnggss with your gov-ernment to explain why action isneeded at the international andnational level to outlaw gender-based violence at work – youcan use the arguments set out inour briefing.
p CCaallll mmeeeettiinnggss with employersto explain how an internationalstandard on GBV would benefitbusiness and industrial relationsand why employers should sup-port such a standard.
p SSeenndd oorr eemmaaiill aa lleetttteerr or apetition to the key governmentand independent or oppositionmembers of Parliament/Congresscalling for an ILO Convention ongender-based violence.
p MMeeeett wwiitthh yyoouurr MMiinniisstteerrss ofLabour and Women’s affairs andseek their support.
p HHoolldd mmeeeettiinnggss with your mem-bership to inform them of theimportance of the issue and whatthey can do to make a differenceat the workplace and nationallevels.
p IInncclluuddee issues of gender-basedviolence on your union’s bargain-ing agenda.
p CCoonndduucctt wwoorrkkppllaaccee ssuurrvveeyyss on
women workers’ experiences ofgender-based violence and usethe results to inform your discus-sions with governments andemployers, and other actors, aswell as your organising and bar-gaining agendas.
p EEnnggaaggee mmaallee cchhaammppiioonnss ofchange (e.g., from amongst yourmembership, politicians, theworld of sports, fathers, etc.)
p UUssee tthhee pprreessss aanndd ssoocciiaall mmeeddiiaa
(Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc.)to highlight and spread aware-ness of the extent of the problemand the need for an internationallabour standard on gender-based violence.
