News on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work

  1. © Better Work 2022
    Helping Women Workers Manage Cultural and Professional Barriers in Pakistan

    14 February 2022

    Female labour force participation in urban Pakistan is among the lowest in the world. In a new training, home-based women workers learn financial literacy, and perhaps most importantly, self-advocacy.

  2. OSH and COVID-19 for Indonesia’s traditional market vendors

    11 February 2022

    Meysha Fatmawati shared her inspirations and journey to produce the winning animation video about the promotion of occupational safety and health (OSH) for traditional market vendors. Her video beat more than 400 participating videos.

  3. Reskilling and upskilling are key to meet the market demand after the pandemic

    17 November 2021

    The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 crisis have accelerated the demand for skills that match the structural shift in labour markets. Chatib Basri, a senior economist, and former Finance Minister shared his views at the ILO’s event about the future trend of the world of work after the pandemic.

  4. © Women's web.in 2022
    Protect and manage mental health at workplace in time of COVID-19

    15 September 2021

    Work arrangements and conditions have changed considerably due to the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing new psychosocial challenges for the health and well-being of workers. The ILO’s Technical Officer, Grace Monica Halim, shared her insights on actions to address this problem.

  5. Convention 190 in action: preventing harassment of workers in Japanese banks

    29 July 2021

    Labour banks (“Rokin Banks”) in Japan have been promoting workers’ access to finance for many years. They have also been in the vanguard when it comes to adopting international standards around workplace violence and harassment. Rokin Banks modelled their recent harassment guidelines directly on the ILO’s Convention 190, serving as an example and inspiration for legislation elsewhere in Japan, and for financial institutions around the world.

  6. Taking the harassment out of ridesharing in Nepal

    01 April 2021

    Ridesharing motorbike taxi services provide employment to thousands in Nepal, especially young people. A new partnership pilot between ILO and Fight Back Pvt. Ltd is helping raise awareness on occupational health and safety as well as sexual harassment during or after the ride.

  7. On Mexico’s farms, COVID-19 highlights need for fair recruitment

    17 August 2020

    Farmers and workers on the Mexico-Guatemala border have long relied on informal cross-border migrant labour, although these practices open the way to exploitation and abuse, and in the era of COVID-19, increase health and safety risks. Now, an ILO project is working with local organizations to promote fairer and safer recruitment practices.

  8. © Nenad Stojkovic 2022
    A better normal must mean tackling workplace violence and harassment

    27 July 2020

    There are signs that work-related violence and harassment has increased during the COVID-19 crisis. A new ILO report looks at how the causes and manifestations can be addressed, something that will be essential if we are to create a ‘better normal’.

  9. How cooperatives can help Brazil’s waste pickers build back from COVID-19

    03 July 2020

    This year’s International Day of Cooperatives on 4 July will focus on climate action. Waste pickers’ cooperatives in Brazil are examples of how cooperatives can help combat climate change, while facing the challenges thrown up by the COVID-19 pandemic.

  10. © Sergiy1975 - Dreamstime.com 2022
    Let’s talk openly about mental health in the workplace

    03 July 2020

    With so many workers suffering the psychological consequences of the pandemic, mental health cannot remain a taboo.

  11. © UN Photos 2022
    Future of work takes centre stage at UNGA

    24 September 2019

    ILO-led discussions relating to the future of work played a key role at the UN General Assembly in New York. Follow the highlights here.

  12. China promotes gender equality at work

    23 September 2019

    OpEd by Claire Courteille-Mulder, the Director of ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia. According to an ILO report, up to 12 percent of workers said they had been subject to verbal abuse, humiliating behavior, bullying, unwanted sexual attention or sexual harassment. Eliminating violence and harassment at the workplace is crucial to achieve greater gender equality and shape a future that works for all men and women, says Claire Courteille-Mulder.

  13. ILO Convention on Violence and Harassment: Five key questions

    28 June 2019

    For the first time violence and harassment in the world of work are covered in new international labour standards, adopted at the Centenary International Labour Conference and now open for ratification by ILO member States.

  14. © Better Work 2022
    Better Work Viet Nam challenges sexual harassment across the factory floor

    14 September 2018

    Still an underreported issue in the country, the joint programme of the ILO and the International Finance Cooperation (IFC), sheds light on the nature of harassment in the workplace and ways to tackle it.

  15. The reality of violence at work in Madagascar

    19 June 2018

    While workplace violence can differ depending on a country’s development level, the most common forms occur everywhere. In the poorest countries, unacceptable practices are often exacerbated by poverty. We looked at the situation in Madagascar.

  16. Three steps to end discrimination of migrant workers and improve their health

    14 February 2018

    When migrant workers leave their home, many encounter abuse and violence on their journey and discrimination once they arrive. This can be because of their status as migrants but also because of their ethnicity, sex, religion, and HIV status.

  17. A smart way to prevent bonded labour

    03 May 2013

    A young couple and their new baby are the first beneficiaries of a national health insurance scheme which now extends to migrant brick kiln workers at risk of bondage, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

  18. © Photos.com / Jupiterimages 2022
    When work becomes a sexual battleground

    06 March 2013

    To mark International Women’s Day on 8 March, which focuses on ‘violence against women’, the ILO is highlighting the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace – an often subtle but disturbing form of aggression.

  19. The story of Munti: Tortured to death in Malaysia

    15 September 2011

    Suparmo, 47 years old, still cannot forget his wife’s condition. Her teeth were broken. Her backbone was fractured. She had bruises and stab wounds on her face and body. His wife’s name was Munti. She was only 36 years old and was in a coma. “I couldn’t believe that she could still be alive with all those severe injuries,” Suparmo recalled. “She had been severely tortured by her employers.”

  20. The story of Umi Saodah: Tortured and trapped in war-torn Palestine

    15 September 2011

    “I’m still angry and cannot forget what they have done to me,” Umi Saodah, a 34-year-old, recalled. It’s still crystal clear in her mind how four family members of her employer tortured her two years ago. “They showed no mercy. If they were living here in Indonesia, I would retaliate,” she said.