News on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work

  1. Code of Conduct gives Viet Nam hope to address workplace sexual harassment, protecting workers and benefiting business

    25 May 2015

    A new Code of Conduct developed with ILO support is expected to help the Government, employers and workers in Viet Nam identify sexual harassment in the workplace, prevent and address it through practical guidance which is missing in the laws.

  2. 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.

  3. ILO Director-General's statement on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2013

    08 March 2013

    A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women. Stop violence against women at work.

  4. Impact of domestic violence in the workplace: Joint Government of Australia/ILO side event at the 57th Session of the CSW

    On 6 March 2013, new studies and evidence on impact of domestic violence in the workplace from three countries were presented by a four-person panel during the 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

  5. © Photos.com / Jupiterimages 2021
    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.

  6. ILO celebrates International Women's Day

    The theme for International Women’s Day 2013 – STOP Violence at work – highlights the need to promote decent work for women and men that is free from violence.

  7. Tripartite Meeting on ILO Code of Practice

    The ILO’s Project on Promoting Gender Equality and Preventing Violence against Women at Workplace supported by the Government of Bangladesh organized a “Tripartite Meeting on ILO Code of Practice – Workplace Violence in Service Sectors and Measures to Combat This Phenomenon” on 30 September 2012 at the Conference Hall of the Chamber Building in Dhaka. Government officials, representatives from different trade unions and employers‟ associations attended the meeting and shared their views about the ILO Code of Conduct addressing violence against women at workplaces in Bangladesh perspective.

  8. Situation analysis of Female Migrants and Domestic Workers

    Under the UNJP-VAW programme, the Ministry of Labour and Employment and ILO’s joint project “Promoting Gender Equality and Preventing VAW at Workplace” organized the Workshop on Situation Analysis of Female Migrants and Domestic Workers. The programme was held on June 21, 2012 at the Chamber Building of Bangladesh Employers Federation located in Dhaka.

  9. Dissemination Workshop on Baseline Survey

    Under UNJP-VAW, Ministry of Labour and Employment and ILO‟s joint project “Promoting gender equality and preventing VAW at workplace” has organized the dissemination workshop on Page 7 of 21 the baseline survey findings on November 23, 2011 at CIRDAP Auditorium with a view to strengthen the political commitment and joint efforts of all stakeholders to prevent and eliminate violence against women at workplace; and identify the ways and means to ensure more sustainable and effective interventions this kind of workshop is really important for us.

  10. 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.”

  11. 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.

  12. The story of Halimah: A father’s persisting regrets

    15 September 2011

    Kohar, 49 years old and a resident of Cianjur, West Java, has five children: four daughters and a son. His wife died in 1999 and his two eldest daughters have worked in Saudi Arabia. When his third daughter, Halimah, 27 years of age, asked his permission to follow in her sisters’ footsteps working in Saudi Arabia as a migrant domestic worker, he could not say no.

  13. The story of Elli Anita: Resilience in the face of adversity

    15 September 2011

    Elli Anita is the third daughter of a family who joined the government-sponsored resettlement program from Jember in East Java to Bandar Lampung, Sumatra, when she was 18 years old. She holds an elementary school level leaving certificate and was expected to work on the family farm. However, after listening to the stories of fellow villagers, she was keen to work overseas as a domestic worker and see other countries.

  14. The story of Siti Tarwiyah: Beaten to death in Saudi Arabia; blood money is all that remains of a mother’s love

    15 September 2011

    “I’m still so traumatized. I can not forget my late wife. Her body was covered in wounds as a result of regular caning,” recalled Hamid, the husband of Siti Tarwiyah who died in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, three years ago. Her body was bruised everywhere because members of the employers family used to smash her up against walls. She was only 32 years old when she died.

  15. The story of Ceriyati: Escaping abuse in Malaysia

    15 September 2011

    Ceriyati Binti Dapin, a 37-year-old mother of a handicapped son, had no other choice but to become a migrant domestic worker in order to supplement the income of her husband Ridwan, who worked as an ojek driver in the Central Java town of Brebes. Despite the long recruitment process and delays in getting employment in Malaysia, she had a strong desire to help her husband cover her son’s regular medical costs.

  16. The story of Cassina: Trapped in war-torn Iraq

    15 September 2011

    Like most of her peers in Subang, West Java, Cassina had a strong desire to lift her family out of poverty as it had a debilitating effect on them since her marriage in 1996. Her husband’s daily income as an ojek driver was inadequate to cover their daily needs and pay for their ten year-old son’s monthly school tuition fees. Having heard the success stories about her fellow villagers working in Malaysia and Middle East, she decided she wanted to work in Abu Dhabi.

  17. ILO calls for zero tolerance of violence against children in the workplace

    20 November 2006

    Millions of child labourers and legally employed adolescents face "systemic" violence at their places of work, ranging from physical or verbal abuse to sexual harassment, rape and even murder, according to a new "World Report on Violence Against Children" ( Note 1) published today, Universal Children's Day.

  18. Universal Children's Day: Stop violence against children in the workplace!

    17 November 2006

    Every year, millions of children who work pay a heavy price in terms of pain and abuse for their labour. The "World Report on Violence Against Children", launched on Universal Children's Day says many of the world's more than 300 million child and adolescent workers suffer ill-treatment, physical and psychological violence, verbal or sexual abuse. The report paints a stark picture of the nature, extent and causes of violence against children, including forms of violence in places of work ILO Online reports.

  19. New UN Report on violence against children: the workplace setting Zero tolerance for violence against children in the workplace

    12 October 2006

    A new report by the United Nations on violence against children is to be transmitted to the UN General Assembly this week. One of its sections is devoted to violence as it affects children who work. According to the report, the key departure point has to be a policy of zero tolerance of violence against children who are working - whether legally or in child labour. Frans Roselaers, Director of the ILO's Department of Partnerships and Development Cooperation and member of the editorial board of the report says that although the end of child labour may be in reach, stopping violence against working children is an urgent need.