Campaign #Against violence against textile workers 11 June 2019 100 years of the ILO: Time for laws #Violence against women textile workers! In 2019, the International Labour Organization (ILO) celebrates its centenary. With its highest body, the International Labour Conference, the member states of the United Nations meet every year in Geneva to decide on international labour law. This year, the conference will be held from 10 to 21 June and will address the issue of violence and harassment in the workplace. So far, there are no effective regulations at the international level. This concerns in particular gender-based violence, i.e. violence due to unequal power relations between the sexes. At the conference, member states will discuss a legally binding Convention (Convention) on Violence and Harassment in the Workplace. If this Convention is adopted, it must first be ratified by the governments of the Member States in order to enter into force. The ratification creates a legal obligation to apply the Convention in question, i.e. to implement the measures set out therein. So this year is about the long overdue legal obligation for governments and employers to implement integrated mechanisms to combat violence and harassment in the workplace, ranging from prevention, monitoring, training and education to enforcement, penalties for perpetrators and victim support. A convention would thus encourage human and labour rights organizations worldwide to push for legal reforms and better enforcement of existing laws. Gender-based violence, in particular violence against women and sexual minorities by men, is one of the most rarely sanctioned violations of the human rights of workers. Also in Germany Nearly one in three women are victims of sexual harassment in the workplace . In addition to physical violence, this includes sexual harassment, threats and discrimination against pregnant women and women with children, as well as coercion and bullying by superiors. Gender-based violence is particularly prevalent in many countries of production of clothing, where a patriarchal social structure often prevails, and is still favored by the unequal power structures within the factories. FEMNET therefore calls on German companies and the Federal Government to ratify the International Labour Conference for a strong ILO Convention with accompanying recommendations.
