The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, November 25, is an important opportunity for the IUF and its affiliates to spotlight the actions in workplaces around the world to combat gender-based violence and harassment and to build greater public awareness around this struggle.
- Across Africa, national IUF women’s committees are focused on the ratification and implementation of C190 alongside numerous training initiatives: with the objective of training the trainers to reach widest possible audience, the anglophone project coordinators have now completed 4 online trainings based on the toolkit on C190 and R206 published earlier this year with more training modules planned for next year, as well as similar online trainings for the francophone coordinators
- IUF Asia/Pacific is highlighting the link between the physical vulnerability women workers face and the economic vulnerability (low wages, poverty wages, precarious work) that increases risks of violence and harassment, as specified in C190; the region has developed materials in many Asian languages around the slogan “’What we fear as women,’ We fight as a union” and calls for greater action to ensure women no longer face fear at work
- In Latin America, IUF affiliates are launching a new phase of the campaign against gender-based violence and harassment with 16 days of activism under the slogan “I have rights, I want equality and respect”; this year, affiliates will participate in a range of activities over the 16 days and will bring new focus to the fight for inclusion and non-discrimination for LGBTI workers
- In Europe, against the backdrop of IUF affiliates actively participating in demonstrations against gender-based violence, Italy, under pressure from trade unions, has now ratified C190, with the UK and Spain announcing imminent ratification and the French parliament authorizing the ratification of C190; IUF affiliates are now asking the French government to open discussions around how French law will comply with C190 and R206 while in the UK, IUF affiliates are promoting courses encouraging women to join the union as a safe space from violence and harassment in the workplace
Patricia Alonso, Chair of the IUF Women’s Committee stated, “November 25 allows us to reaffirm our commitment to ending all types of violence against women. We must work on a daily basis to achieve this world for everyone, and we need to make sure that our actions match our words in keeping with the sincerity of our ideals and convictions.”
