News

8 March 2013 – UNI Global Union says unionisation is key to preventing violence against women in the workplace. UNI is participating in the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York – this year’s theme is stopping violence against women and girls. UNI’s call for International Women’s Day is that women should be free to join a union free from fear.



UNI Global Union General Secretary, Philip Jennings said, "We want women to be free from fear and have a voice in the work place and the only way we can ensure that happens is through union organising. Women must have the right to join a union without fear of intimidation. This is the way we can create a safe environment at work which will have a positive effect at home too. We can break through the circle of inequality and violence."



“Violence has its roots in inequality and UNI women want to break the circle of inequality and violence to ensure that women and girls all over the world can lead rewarding and fulfilling lives, free from fear. Today, on International Women’s Day, UNI women all over the world are marching for equality – and UNI women are out in force at the UN CSW in New York, lobbying governments to stop violence against women and girls. Women are instrumental in improving the condition of their children, families and communities. So, let’s stand together for social justice and build the future we all deserve.” said Denise McGuire, President of UNI Women.



MEP Mikael Gustafsson, the first male chair of the European Parliament Women’s Committee, added,” This year's UN CSW deals with one of the most basic and central issues for all us that want to build societies where women and men are equal and fully enjoy their human rights - namely how we can together combat violence against women. Male violence against women is an intolarable expression of structurally, unequal power relations between men and women, it is a breach of women's human rights, and a real obstacle to gender equality. Actions to end violence against women are therefore a top priority. Silence around these issues is complicity, and men need to speak out about against perpetrators, against male dominance over women, and against all forms of violence against women."

We can stop women becoming the victims of acts of violence and injustice by speaking out on sex discrimination at work and demanding the dismantling of barriers to health, social, legal and education services. The prevailing injustices against women, and violence in particular, blights the lives of women and the future of communities across the world. It’s happening all over the world now:

• In India, a fatal gang rape prompts nationwide outrage calling for tougher new laws on sexual assault
• In Saudi Arabia, shocking news of beheading a Sri Lankan domestic worker shows a country out of step with international standards
• In South Africa, the Oscar Pistorius case has brought to light “a country at war with its women where they fall victims of a culture of gender-based violence, guns and white paranoia
• In Australia, the outcry at Australia’s PM Gillard calling her opponent a misogynist and a hypocrite
• In Hollywood, USA, a sexist song opening the Oscars ceremony, naming and shaming actresses simply because they of their work depicts an unequal power relations projected in the entertainment industry
  
  

UNI is committed to promoting equality through participation and representation of youth and women in all decision-making processes and working across society to achieve this aim.