"OPINION: Can a global treaty end gender-based violence at work? With workers it will.", 10 June 2019

Between June 10–21, the International Labour Organization... is meeting in Geneva to finalize a convention covering violence and harassment at work. The process... is important... Working people and their unions have been at the table throughout the drafting process, championing a strong focus on gender-based violence (GBV) and harassment.

When working people have a voice, they can ensure the solutions developed to address gender-based violence and harassment at work are effective and sustainable...

Shame, fear of retaliation and job loss prevent the vast majority of women from reporting such abuse. While both men and women can be victims of gender-based violence at work, women are most frequently targeted.

Through the #MeToo movement, we have seen how gender-based violence and harassment can happen at any workplace. But #MeToo also has shown us how ... [t]he laws, by and large, were never designed by those likely to experience gender-based violence on the job—front-line workers.

... Unions provide a means by which working people most impacted by GBV can voice their needs and experiences. In doing so, unions have shown that when front-line workers have a say, solutions addressing deeply-rooted problems like GBV effectively address the concerns for those most affected...