Gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) is defined as violence and harassment directed at people because of their sex or gender. Rooted in discriminatory gender norms, institutions and laws, and buttressed by a lack of accountability for perpetrators, GBVH occurs in all societies as a means of control, subjugation and exploitation that reflects and reinforces gender inequality. Buoyed by the resurgence of the #MeToo movement in late 2017, and with the support of ABA policy adopted in 2018 in June 2019, the International Labor Organization adopted Convention 190 and Recommendation 206 concerning the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work, including gender-based violence and harassment. International Labor Convention 190 is the first binding international labor standard to comprehensively address these abuses in the workplace. The Convention and the Recommendation take a feminist and gender-responsive approach, recognizing that women and other workers experiencing multiple forms of exclusion and discrimination are facing the highest rates of violence and harassment and need to be centered in the employer policies and national laws drafted to eliminate it.
In recognition of International Women's Day, the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice hosted a webinar focused on this new global labor standard and how it can be used to bolster efforts by the U.S. government, employers, and workers' organizations to prevent and address GBVH in the world of work.