Rallies, activist sessions, labor platforms, global gatherings and more—-during this year’s 16 Days of Violence Against Women, Solidarity Center’s diverse efforts around the world are all centered on the same goal: ratification and implementation of a treaty to end gender-based violence and harassment at work and action to end GBVH in countries that had not yet ratified the treaty.
Between November 25 and December 10, International Human Rights Day, activists worldwide are raising attention to the more than 743 million people who have experienced job-related violence or harassment, and are pressing for countries to ratify and adhere to International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 190. Adopted in 2019, C190 seeks to prevent and address violence and harassment in the world of work that includes gender-based violence and harassment.
So far, 45 countries have ratified the convention, and union activists around the world are campaigning to ensure workers experience tangible results that address the harassment and violence many face every day at work because of their gender. In countries that have not yet ratified C190, activists utilizing collective bargaining as a tool to prevent and end GBVH.
As stated on the C190 Arc Task Force, a new website backed by a coalition of activists including the Solidarity Center: “No one should have to endure gender-based violence and harassment at work.”
Gayan Prasad of the National Postal Telecommunication Union in Sri Lanka takes part in a 16 Days of Activism training. Credit: Solidarity Center/Ponniah Yogeshwari
Worldwide Action to End GBVH
Globally, one in 15 workers have experienced gender-based violence with Black and Indigenous workers experiencing higher rates of GBVH. Unions, at the center of addressing GBVH, also need awareness of the issues and opportunity to join with GBVH campaigns.
“Traditional trade unions will need to think of new strategies,” said Gustavo Gonzalez, United Nations Philippines resident coordinator. Speaking at an event in the Philippines during the 16 Days of Action, he noted the importance of organizing, along with anticipating the future of work that will disproportionately impact women workers.
At the event, a coalition of women union leaders in the Philippines launched a gendered analysis of the labor movement’s 15-point agenda to address women’s persistent challenges in violence, segregated workforce participation, and representation in decision-making processes.
In Sri Lanka, where the country has not ratified C190, five union leaders and members from sectors such as health care and the informal economy took part in an activism session in Colombo that highlighted the importance of C190 and strategies for securing its ratification. Participants shared action plans for raising awareness and disseminating the information at the union and workplace levels and presented a petition to the government urging ratification of C190.
Global Conferences Highlight GBVH
Solidarity Center participants in two conferences joined union and feminist leaders from around the world in Bangkok during the 16 Days of Activism.
At the Feminist Forum on Migration and Displacement, the Solidarity Center brought participants together in a two-day migration forum to explore key issues shaping the realities of women and gender-diverse people in migration and displacement, including climate change, discrimination, civic participation and organizing, and war, conflict and occupation. The forum, held in advance of the Women in Migration Network (WIMN), sought to foster meaningful discussions and build strategies that will drive lasting change.
Also in Bangkok, the Solidarity Center joined thousands of activists, feminists, artists who came together in discussions, performances and conversations at the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) forum. Bringing together health care workers from Palestine and South Africa and domestic workers from Peru and Kenya working in Jordan, the Solidarity Center held an interactive strategy session with participants around building capacity to propose remedies for addressing decent work in the care economy. “Elevating Care as Critical Infrastructure: Workers Uniting through Collective Action,” was co-sponsored with the Asia Floor Wage Alliance and International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF).
In highlighting unions’ ongoing progress in preventing and eliminating GBVH, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) found women union members continue to lead the struggle for gender-equal and violence-free workplaces. The ITUC released Unions in Action to End Violence and Harassment in the World of Work which includes the latest survey of union action for the ratification and implementation of C190.