"Gender-based violence: Transnational corporations fall short on due diligence", 8 July 2021

Gender-based violence is rampant in the world of work, affecting all professions and sectors...

...In the world of work, gender-based violence can take multiple forms, ranging from sexist remarks and “jokes” to physical assault. Sexual harassment is one of the most prevalent forms of gender-based violence. It encompasses a range of behaviour and practices that, although unwanted, is often “normalised” and persistent: sexual comments and advances, obscene remarks, posting of pornographic photos or images and unwanted physical contact. In France, one in three women have experienced sexual harassment or assault in the workplace. A number of scandals that have emerged since the beginning of the #MeToo movement have revealed just how widespread gender-based violence is within transnational corporations such as Ubisoft and McDonald’s, and the extent to which this violence goes unpunished...

...While gender-based violence at work has long remained a taboo subject, and can be difficult to assess, these figures should have alerted the companies concerned and prompted them to intervene in order to reduce the risks. However, an analysis of the application of France's law on the “duty of vigilance for parent and instructing companies”11 shows a very different reality...

...However, four years after the law was enacted, transnational corporations are failing to meet their “duty of vigilance” obligations, primarily because their risk mapping fails to include risks of gender-based violence. Have transnational corporations forgotten that women's rights are human rights? Four different industries have been analysed in order to identify risk factors specific to each and assess the effectiveness of measures adopted so far...