Knowledge Exchange Seminar on Workplace Gender-based Violence and Harassment in Cambodia’s Construction Sector

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Speakers: Michele Ford and Vichhra Mouyly (University of Sydney)

Chair: Fabiola Mieres (ILO Research Department)

Abstract:

Violence and harassment at work takes many forms but is often understood as an act or acts that cause physical or psychological harm or injury. Gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) is a subset of workplace violence and harassment that involves processes of power and control designed to assert and reproduce gender roles.

Workplace GBVH is more pronounced in male-dominated industries, like construction where dominant masculinities are particularly entrenched. While men do experience violence in the workplace – and both men and women perpetrate it – women are far more likely to be targeted because of their gender. Male perpetrators, meanwhile, largely continue to act with impunity because the systemic nature of workplace GBVH is under-recognised, if it is recognised at all.

In this presentation, we will discuss women’s and men’s experiences of workplace GBVH in cement factories and on residential and commercial construction sites. Drawing on data from a survey of men and women workers (n=600) and in-depth interviews with workers, management, sub-contractors and trade unionists, we identify where and how incident occurs, how key players respond, and reflect on the lessons our data provides for unions, management and government.

Speakers:

Michele Ford is Professor of Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Sydney, Australia. Her research focuses on Southeast Asian labour movements, the intersection between national and international trade unions, union responses to temporary labour migration and labour’s engagement in the political sphere.

Vichhra Mouyly is a PhD candidate from the University of Sydney. Her research focuses on gender-based violence and harassment at work in Cambodia's construction and garment industries. Before commencing her PhD, she worked for the International Labour Organization/ Better Factories Cambodia for almost ten years in her role as an enterprise advisor.