Congress believes the "No Excuses" major national awareness campaign on sexual harassment and sexual violence launched today is indeed a timely initiative.
2018 research carried out by Red C research reported that Ireland has the highest level of claimed sexual harassment in Europe with 32% of Irish women between the ages of 18 and 34 saying they had experienced some form of sexual harassment in the last 12 months.
We believe that such shocking statistics once again show the need for improved protections for people experiencing sexual harassment and reiterate our call for complaints of sexual harassment to be elevated to the status of "protected disclosures" thereby ensuring stronger protection and reporting mechanisms for those submitting complaints. Congress General Secretary Patricia King has described this proposed change as "a potential game changer and a major step forward for those suffering such abuse".
As well as strong legal protections, the best way to minimise such behaviour in the workplace is through preventive measures and to create an effective policy with a strong commitment to implementing it.
The campaign is also timely given the upcoming negotiations on a new ILO Convention on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work at next month's International Labour Conference. It is crucial that the new instrument give sufficiently clear direction to assist Governments with transposition into national law and enable consistency in its application.
