Wednesday, August 10, 2005
[IWS] ILO: SEXUAL HARASSMENT National & International RESPONSES [2005]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE GENEVA
Conditions of Work and Employment Programme
Conditions of Work and Employment Series No. 2
Sexual harassment at work: National and international responses [2005]
Deirdre McCann
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/condtrav/pdf/2cws.pdf
[full-text, 74 pages]
[excerpt]
Sexual harassment is a hazard encountered in workplaces across the world that reduces the quality of working life, jeopardizes the well-being of women and men, undermines gender equality and imposes costs on firms and organizations. For the International Labour Organization, workplace sexual harassment is a barrier towards its primary goal of promoting decent working conditions for all workers.
This report contributes to the ILOs activities in this area by providing an overview of what is being done to prevent and combat workplace sexual harassment at international level and in countries across the world. It reviews international standards and national legislation; the activities of governments, employers and workers organizations, and NGOs; and workplace policies and programmes. The report does not provide an exhaustive account of these measures, but instead attempts to identify the main approaches being taken, to highlight dominant trends and to single out best practices.
It finds that in countries in which research has been conducted, workplace sexual harassment is relatively widespread. Moreover, although it has male victims, sexual harassment is overwhelmingly directed at women, especially those in less-powerful positions in the labour market. It has also become apparent that it can impose substantial costs on both its victims and their employers.
The report shows that sexual harassment has been the subject of a broad range of measures since the late 1970s. At the international level, it has been addressed as both an aspect of gender discrimination and as a form of violence against women. Governments in all regions have enacted legislation to prohibit it, mainly over the period since 1995. In this regard, the report identifies signs of an emerging trend towards enacting specific laws against sexual harassment which draw on both civil and criminal law approaches; of imposing duties on employers and holding them liable for the actions of their employees, and of tailoring enforcement procedures so that they do not discourage individuals from bringing claims. The role of laws in encouraging employers to introduce workplace policies is also increasingly influencing their content.
In addition to legal measures, many governments, employers and workers organizations, and other bodies are using a range of techniques to prevent sexual harassment and help its victims. It is common, for example, for governments to issue guidance on how to design anti-sexual harassment measures and to offer counselling to workers who have been targeted. Workers and employers organizations are producing model policies and collective agreement clauses, issuing guidance on complying with laws, conducting research and providing training. At the workplace level, growing numbers of employers are introducing sexual harassment policies and complaints procedures, particularly in industrialized countries; and there are signs of awareness of the need for these policies in a number of countries in which they have, until now, been relatively rare. Moreover, there appears to be an emerging consensus around what workplace policies should contain and the steps to be taken to implement them, which can be drawn on by those employers who have yet to take action.
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky *
Director, IWS News Bureau *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor *
New York, NY 10016 *
*
Telephone: (607) 255-2703 *
Fax: (607) 255-9641 *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu *
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
New York, NY 10016
________________________________________________________________________
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE GENEVA
Conditions of Work and Employment Programme
Conditions of Work and Employment Series No. 2
Sexual harassment at work: National and international responses [2005]
Deirdre McCann
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/condtrav/pdf/2cws.pdf
[full-text, 74 pages]
[excerpt]
Sexual harassment is a hazard encountered in workplaces across the world that reduces the quality of working life, jeopardizes the well-being of women and men, undermines gender equality and imposes costs on firms and organizations. For the International Labour Organization, workplace sexual harassment is a barrier towards its primary goal of promoting decent working conditions for all workers.
This report contributes to the ILOs activities in this area by providing an overview of what is being done to prevent and combat workplace sexual harassment at international level and in countries across the world. It reviews international standards and national legislation; the activities of governments, employers and workers organizations, and NGOs; and workplace policies and programmes. The report does not provide an exhaustive account of these measures, but instead attempts to identify the main approaches being taken, to highlight dominant trends and to single out best practices.
It finds that in countries in which research has been conducted, workplace sexual harassment is relatively widespread. Moreover, although it has male victims, sexual harassment is overwhelmingly directed at women, especially those in less-powerful positions in the labour market. It has also become apparent that it can impose substantial costs on both its victims and their employers.
The report shows that sexual harassment has been the subject of a broad range of measures since the late 1970s. At the international level, it has been addressed as both an aspect of gender discrimination and as a form of violence against women. Governments in all regions have enacted legislation to prohibit it, mainly over the period since 1995. In this regard, the report identifies signs of an emerging trend towards enacting specific laws against sexual harassment which draw on both civil and criminal law approaches; of imposing duties on employers and holding them liable for the actions of their employees, and of tailoring enforcement procedures so that they do not discourage individuals from bringing claims. The role of laws in encouraging employers to introduce workplace policies is also increasingly influencing their content.
In addition to legal measures, many governments, employers and workers organizations, and other bodies are using a range of techniques to prevent sexual harassment and help its victims. It is common, for example, for governments to issue guidance on how to design anti-sexual harassment measures and to offer counselling to workers who have been targeted. Workers and employers organizations are producing model policies and collective agreement clauses, issuing guidance on complying with laws, conducting research and providing training. At the workplace level, growing numbers of employers are introducing sexual harassment policies and complaints procedures, particularly in industrialized countries; and there are signs of awareness of the need for these policies in a number of countries in which they have, until now, been relatively rare. Moreover, there appears to be an emerging consensus around what workplace policies should contain and the steps to be taken to implement them, which can be drawn on by those employers who have yet to take action.
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 12:18 PM
