MONTREAL, Canada, Nov 19 (IPS) – Negar Mohtashami Khojasteh is in the Women’s Rights Unit at Human Rights Watch. During the humid heat in Indonesia, I saw many men on motorbikes roaming outside the gates of the garment factory, their children slung over their shoulders. , as they wait for their partners to finish their work. These men – many without their jobs – came to pick up the women who support their families.
In Sukabumi – where the main employers are garment factories, and their workers are women – women are the backbone of the economy. Yet these women often face violence at work and at home – and their employers can and should do more to help.
“Almost all married women in my area are facing domestic violence,” said one dressmaker. Another said that domestic violence is an open secret in her community, the sad reality of being a married woman and a breadwinner.
Human Rights Watch has documented the horrific human rights violations suffered by women working in garment factories across Asian countries, where low wages, harsh working hours, unsafe working conditions, verbal abuse and harassment are common and sexual harassment of female workers is common in the workplace. . .
Yet when these women go home, many face another form of abuse: domestic violence, driven in part by anger at how they are perceived as deviating from gender roles by being breadwinners.
This pattern is not only Indonesia or women’s clothing workers. In Bangladesh, research has shown a correlation between working women and domestic violence, especially among women who marry young or have low levels of education.
The studioy in many African countries they found that women’s employment is “positively correlated with the likelihood of abuse” at home. In Australia, a new study has shown that women who earn more than their male counterparts are 33 percent more likely to experience domestic violence.
Although financial independence can be a protective factor against domestic violence, in societies where patriarchal attitudes prevail, female breadwinners disrupt the dynamics of domestic power and can face backlash from their husbands, as men use violence to regain control.
This violence can manifest itself in the form of controlling a woman’s income, physical beating and sexual abuse, and mental and verbal abuse.
The struggle to end domestic violence needs to include the impetus to change society’s understanding of gender roles, and employers have a big role to play in this effort and, increasingly, they are responsible for doing so.
After years of campaigning by activists and trade unions, and as the #MeToo movement grew, the International Labor Organization adopted a new Convention on Violence and Abuse (C190) in 2019, which includes employers’ requirements to reduce the harm of domestic violence. . Although Indonesia and Bangladesh have not yet ratified it, 45 countries have already ratified the convention, and the number is growing steadily.
As employers, especially in industries where women hold many jobs, implementing internal policies against violence and sexual harassment in the workplace, they also need to recognize their important role in helping employees who face domestic violence.
It is not an isolated story, and the effects of domestic violence are not limited to the home. Domestic violence affects the well-being of employees, affecting their health, safety, and long-term performance at work. In some cases, it literally follows them to work.
During my research, I interviewed witnesses who told me that they saw a woman being beaten by her husband just outside the garment factory before he started work. By acknowledging this connection, employers can take reasonable steps to protect their employees from all forms of violence, creating a safe environment for women both at work and outside.
Researchers have documented the connection between a woman’s bargaining power at home and her safety. Employers can play an important role in helping women protect themselves by providing a supportive workplace that offers practical help.
The measures mentioned in Recommendation 206 of the Convention on Violence and Abuse of the International Labor Organization such as flexible work arrangements, paid leave for survivors of domestic violence, and temporary protection from dismissal can be an important way of life, empowering women to choose to leave abusive situations. In this way, employers not only increase the bargaining power of women but also contribute to a way out of violence.
Domestic violence is not a private matter, contrary to certain views. Under the ILO convention, employers have a duty to assist. This is a very important job; the way an employer reacts to a situation where one of its employees is facing domestic violence can have life and death consequences.
© Inter Press Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
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