Violence and Harassment against women and men in the world of work: Towards a new international labour standard. What is violence in the world of work? What is the workplace? What does the path towards a new international labour standard look like?

1. Violence and harassment against women and
men in the world of work: Towards (a) new
international labour standard(s)
Manuela Tomei
Conditions of Work and Equality Department
International Labour Office (ILO)

2. ILO’s Conditions of Work and Equality Department (WORKQUALITY)
Background
Nov 2015
ILO’s Governing Body (GB) places “violence against women and
men in the world of work” as a standard-setting item on the 2018
ILC agenda
Oct 2016 Tripartite Meeting of Experts to inform preparations for the first
discussion of (a) possible instrument(s) by the ILC
Apr 2017 “Law and Practice” report (legal analysis of law and practice in 80
countries, along with questionnaire)
Mar 2018 The first report containing the replies to the questionnaire will be
sent to ILO constituents
Jun 2018 First ILC discussion
Jun 2019 or 2020 Second and final ILC discussion

3. ILO’s Conditions of Work and Equality Department (WORKQUALITY)
Why a focus on violence and harassment in the
world of work?
 Violence and harassment is a:
 Threat to the dignity, security,
health and well-being of everyone. It is unacceptable and
incompatible with decent work
 Generates huge losses in the productivity and
profitability of enterprises and damages their reputation
 Discourages workers to enter and remain in the labour
force or to engage in non-traditional occupations
Workplace violence:
it’s not part of the job!

4. ILO’s Conditions of Work and Equality Department (WORKQUALITY)
What is violence and harassment in the world
of work?
 No internationally-agreed definition of the term “violence in
the world of work”.
 But a great deal of common ground across the world in terms
of both substance and action.
 “Violence and harassment” is used as a continuum of a variety
of behaviours, gestures and actions that cause harm to other
human beings.
 «The world of work» includes, but transcends, the physical
workplace (e.g. when commuting, while in work-related
training or social events, cyberbullying)

5. ILO’s Conditions of Work and Equality Department (WORKQUALITY)
Various forms of violence and harassment
 Physical
 Psychological
 Sexual (including sexual harassment)
 Physical, psychological and sexual violence is gender-based
when it is directed against a woman or a man because she is a
woman or a man who does not conform to certain gender social norms,
and affects women or men disproportionately

6. ILO’s Conditions of Work and Equality Department (WORKQUALITY)
Why does violence and harassment in the world
of work occur?
 Abuse of unequal power relations.
 Poor management, poor organization of work and poor
working conditions.
 Informal work.
 “Normalisation” of violence and harassment.
 Intimate partner violence, when it affects a worker’s
ability to go to work, to do her work or keep her job.

7. ILO’s Conditions of Work and Equality Department (WORKQUALITY)
Who is involved?
 Violence and harassment can be experienced-or
committed- by employers, managers, workers or
third parties.
 Violence and harassment can be «lateral» or
«horizontal» when committed between workers or
employers or managers
 Violence can affect interns and apprentices, who are
not in an employment relationship but operate under
the authority of another person.

8. ILO’s Conditions of Work and Equality Department (WORKQUALITY)
The growing importance of psychological
violence
 Physical violence is palpable and important,
 …but psychological violence is the most-reported
form of violence
 The repeated, grinding nature of psychological
violence has long-term negative impacts, as serious
as those stemming from more egregious forms of
violence.

9. ILO’s Conditions of Work and Equality Department (WORKQUALITY)
Particular groups and sectors are more affected by
violence and harassment than others
 No group, sector or occupation is intrinsically more
exposed to violence
 However, some groups, sectors and occupations seem
to be at higher risk than others because of the interplay
of:
 Power relations and intersectionality.
 Circumstances and conditions of work.
 Psychosocial hazards.

10. ILO’s Conditions of Work and Equality Department (WORKQUALITY)
National regulatory responses: main
approaches
 Prevention.
 Protection against violence- sexual harassment is the most
commonly addressed form of workplace violence.
 Complaint mechanisms within or outside the enterprise.
 Regulation of working conditions and specific measures for
workers who maybe more at risk.
 Regulation of violence through collective agreements at
various levels.
 Workplace level policies.

11. ILO’s Conditions of Work and Equality Department (WORKQUALITY)
Regulatory gaps in national legislation
 Lack of coherence and coordination among laws that address
violence and harasment in the world of work.
 Coverage gap.
 «Workplace» is often defined too narrowly.
 A criminal justice approach is not effective in dealing with more
insidious forms of violence, such as sexual harasssment and
bullying.
 Employers’ general duty to protect the health and safety of
workers often does not include protection against violence.
 Only a small number of countries consider the health
consequences of workplace violenece as compensable
occupational illnesses.
 Need for a gender lens to regulatory protections.

12. ILO’s Conditions of Work and Equality Department (WORKQUALITY)
Regulatory gaps in ILO instruments (ILS)
 No ILS defines violence and harassment nor provides a scope
for it.
 A number of ILS address violence and harassment against
certain groups as part of broader protection approaches (e.g. C.
Nos.169 and 189, and R. No.200)
 Other ILS, while not mentioning violence explicitly, provide
some elements for addressing it (e.g. C. Nos.155 and 187, and C.
Nos. 102 and 120)
 Gaps remain with regard to certain occupations and forms of
violence and harassment.
 No ILS provides for an integrated approach bringing prevention,
protection and compensation and rehabilitation all together.