This week marks the beginning of the 16 days campaign to tackle Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence (DSGBV).
Speaking on 25th November, the international day to demand an end to violence against women and girls, Congress General Secretary Owen Reidy said:
“That violence against women and girls continues and is tolerated is an outrage which we must act to address; the levels of violence, harassment, discrimination and misogyny experienced by women and girls is a blight on our society.”
Violence against women and girls remains one of the most prevalent and pervasive human rights violations in the world. According to the UN, globally almost one in three women have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their life; for at least 51,100 women in 2023, the cycle of violence ended with their murder by partners and family members. That means a woman was killed every 10 minutes.
This scourge has intensified in different settings, including the workplace and online spaces, and has been exacerbated by war and climate change.
Speaking in relation to workplace sexual harassment Mr Reidy said
“Some years ago Congress conducted a survey on the experiences of trade union members who had been victims of workplace sexual harassment. The results were shocking and showed clearly that the majority of people who are subjected to sexual harassment or assault in the workplace do not go on to report the incident (75%). Perhaps even more worryingly, of those who did report, only around 40% felt that it was dealt with appropriately. Most of the people who experienced the harassment or assault were women and the majority of the perpetrators were men.”
“We know what the issues are” said Mr Reidy, “structural gender inequality, discrimination, poverty and misogyny to name but a few. Now we must act together for solutions, men must take the lead in calling out misogyny, robust responses from governments, including through leadership, legislation and policy, holding perpetrators accountable, and accelerating action through well-resourced national strategies and increased funding to women’s rights movements.”
The National Women's Council and the Women’s Aid Federation NI (WAFNI) have published a report highlighting the prevalence of and huge societal cost of violence against women across the island; significant barriers to services for certain groups of women; and the impact of the border for women and children in accessing services. It also highlights the vital role that civil society organisations play in both jurisdictions in this area.
Women's Aid here in the Republic mark 50 years of their work and have published new research that shows young men moving to the right in attitudes towards women and manhood, while violence and abuse is a ‘fact of life’ for too many women.
Congress joins with unions around the world in the 16 days campaign.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has said that Europe’s laws are not keeping up with new and rising threats against women in the workplace and published a new report shows on the international day for the elimination of violence against women. They have written to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to call on her to bring forward a new directive on gender based violence at work, supporting unions to collectively bargain for safe workplaces.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) urges the ratification and implementation of ILO Convention 190 (C190) and Recommendation 206 (R206). This can be done through gender-transformative reforms in laws, policies, and workplace agreements to prevent exposure to violence, support survivors including by ensuring job and earnings security, and hold perpetrators to account.
As the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration in 2025 approaches, trade unions call for increased investment in prevention and greater funding for anti-violence public services.
