Femnet e.V.

Pressemeldungen - Gegen Gewalt an Textilarbeiterinnen

08 March 2020 Study on sexual harassment of seamstresses in textile factories: Legislation needed to protect women in the workplace

Bonn, Germany and Dhaka, Bangladesh, 8 March 2020. From economic exploitation to domestic violence, from sexual harassment by supervisors and prerogatives to rape in the workplace, violence and harassment are brutal everyday life for many women in Bangladesh. States and companies are not using their options to protect women from assault. FEMNET and its partner organisations call for the immediate ratification and effective implementation of international conventions for the protection of women in global supply chains.

A study published on International Women's Day highlights the extent of harassment and violence in the textile industry in Bangladesh, the country's most important industry. The report by the women's rights organization FEMNET and its Bangladeshi partner Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity (BCWS) shows that around 75 percent of the over 600 workers surveyed regularly fall victim to sexual harassment in the factories. Nevertheless, violence and harassment usually do not come to light in the context of social audits and other standard instruments for factory inspections.

“Women in Bangladesh do not talk about violence and harassment, these are taboo topics. Therefore, there are many undocumented cases of violent attacks, including in the workplace", says Kalpona Akter, Director of the BCWS. “Insults and sexual insults are so commonplace in factories that often neither workers nor management perceive this as a problem at all.”

Without awareness of the problem on the part of the factory management, suitable countermeasures are also lacking. The report identifies three other main causes of violence and harassment in garment factories: The purchasing practices of international brand companies, which create high production pressure and thus often lead to violent behaviour towards women, lack of complaint mechanisms within the factories and lack of legislation to protect against gender-based violence.

"Companies need to proactively address violence and harassment in their factories instead of hiding them," says Dr Gisela Burckhardt, Chair of FEMNET. “Fabrics and shopping fashion brands must have a policy that clearly condemns violence and harassment, protects victims and encourages them to report cases.”

The authors of the study call on the governments of Bangladesh and Germany to ratify and implement international standards to protect women from violence and harassment in the workplace, such as the ILO Convention 190 adopted in June 2019. The German government should also adopt a supply chain law requiring companies to analyse, take countermeasures and report on potential human rights violations such as violence and harassment in their supply chains.

 

 

Photo credits

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Protest by workers' organisation against sexual harassment and violence in the workplace on 7.2.2020 in Dhaka.
Photo: © Taslima Akter

 

contact

Katharina Edinger, FEMNET e.V., Press and Public Relations

Telephone: 0175 - 58 46 55 60
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Press release of 08.03.2020 (PDF file)

 

About FEMNET e.V.

FEMNET is a non-profit women's rights organization based in Bonn. Founded in 2007, the association advocates for better working conditions in the clothing industry of the global South, where much of the clothing used in the West is sewn. FEMNET requires companies to comply with social standards along the entire supply chain, for which the policy should create binding rules. Women in India and Bangladesh support FEMNET through a mutual legal assistance fund. In addition, the association supports partner organizations in the work against violence against women in the workplace and for better childcare in textile factories. In Germany, FEMNET conducts educational work at universities and schools, advises cities and municipalities on the purchase of fair workwear and provides information on seals and fair-produced clothing.

For more information: femnet.de/gegengewalt

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