Addressing Occupational Violence: An overview of conceptual and policy considerations viewed through a gender lens

Abstract

Support for addressing violence in the world of work has been building at the international level, including within the ILO. This was highlighted at the 104th Session of the International Labour Conference in June 2015, both in the Resolution concerning the recurrent item on social protection (labour protection) as well as in the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204). The issue is central to the ILO’s centenary initiative on women at work, as violence is a major obstacle to decent work for women and men. The 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda is also relevant in this regard: Sustainable Development Goal 5.2 calls on governments to “Eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls in the public and private spheres”, and Goal 8.5 calls for full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men. This report on occupational violence and regulatory interventions was first commissioned in the context of the women at work centenary initiative, and will now also inform the preparations for a standard-setting item on Violence against Women and Men in the World of Work (at the International Labour Conference to be held in 2018). It builds on the seminal work of Duncan Chappell and Vittorio Di Martino, published by the ILO in 20061, a book that remains the most thorough overview of issues important to the understanding of occupational violence in the world. Since that important publication, much research has been conducted and many policies have been developed and implemented in jurisdictions around the world on various aspects of occupational violence. Much of the research has examined physical violence and workplace bullying and harassment; however, few studies have used a gender lens in reporting on occupational violence in its various forms. Those studies that do focus on gender tend to focus on sexual harassment, and more recently domestic violence in the workplace, rather than looking more broadly at all forms of occupational violence through a gender lens. Paying attention to gender in understanding all types of violence occurring in the workplace in various countries, and the determinants of workplace violence, is essential for the development of gender-sensitive policies that will promote prevention of violence in its various forms and that will ensure adequate social protection and support for targets of violence. This report, reviewing the international literature and a selection of regulatory instruments with respect to occupational violence, provides an overview of policy strategies addressing the prevention of occupational violence, examines the various, (sometimes competing) conceptual frameworks underpinning policy responses to violence, and describes different models of regulatory and policy interventions. The report identifies gender issues of importance in designing policy on occupational violence and knowledge and policy gaps that should be addressed to better design protections that are gender sensitive. The report also examines compensation for disability attributable to occupational violence, and other remedies and sanctions.