Violence against women at the workplace

Veröffentlicht: 26 September 2013
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On the 19th of September 2013 the French CGT called for a day of studies in Paris, at the premises of the Federation, to discuss sexual violence in the workplace and how it is derived from the existing inequalities between men and women.

While it is true that as a result of the lack of statistics the extent of the existing violations at the workplace cannot be seen clearly, some studies show that 5% of the violations to women between the ages of 18 and 59 years take place at work, with more than 34 violations committed every day in businesses, and with one out of four workers receiving indecent proposals at their workplace.

Multiple and multiform, at work or outside, the constant attacks on the dignity, the freedom and the physical and mental integrity of women form a powerful obstacle to equality in all domains, especially the professional. They put in jeopardy not only the right to work of women, but also their lives, their welfare and their environment, especially their children. This type of violence is not something that only applies to the individual; it is something that concerns the whole society.

UNI Equal Opportunities attended the roundtable organized by the CGT in which personalities with excellent academic and experience levels were present.

Verónica Fernández Méndez, Director of the Interprofessional Group of UNI Europa Women and Global Head of the Department of Equal Opportunities at UNI, presented the UNI campaign "Break the Circle of Violence ", which has been ongoing for the last three years. www.breakingthecircle.org

Furthermore, and in preparation for the upcoming Month of Action against Gender Violence, the Department of Equal Opportunities at UNI Global Union, together with the UNI World Women's Committee, have created an online resource center that contains a set of tools to work against violence, like policies and procedures for unions and companies, a negotiation guide and a survey to detect when a worker has suffered violence.

Awareness of violence against women has still a long way to go before it is fully settled in the collective conscience of modern day societies. As an example, more than 603 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not yet considered to be a crime.