Event Recording – “Femicide in the World of Work: How the Gendered Aspects of Lethal Violence are being Ignored”

CSW66 Parallel Event Recording:

This event was co-hosted by CWGL and the Global 16 Days Campaign as a parallel event during the sixty-sixth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66) in conjunction with the review theme – women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work (agreed conclusions of CSW61).

It brought together leaders from different sectors for a panel discussion on the urgent need to address the issue of femicide (i.e., gender-related killing of women) in the world of work and explored how ILO Convention 190, in addition to other existing legal protections and political commitments to end femicide, can be utilized to prevent lethal violence against women workers.

Key takeaways from the event included:

  • Femicide occurs both in private and public sectors with both informal and formal workers.
    • Informal workers such as sex workers, migrant workers, transport workers, and garment workers are put in vulnerable situations with little to no institutional support.
    • Workers in the formal sector, such as parliamentary officials and journalists, also face violence and harassment at the highest levels possible.
  • This can be combated by integrating C190 language in policies at local, state, and federal levels –
    • A broad definition of GBV in workplace based on ILO convention must be accepted.
    • C190 and R206 language in agreements and policy structures can raise awareness and lobby government, because right now, laws to protect exist, but with little to no implementation. This leaves certain communities vulnerable, such as informal workers. 

The event was moderated by ITUC representative Rose Omamo, the General Secretary of Amalgamated Union of Kenya Metal Workers.

Speakers included:

– Isela Juarez, President of SITRASEMCA Municipal Workers’ Union in Honduras
– Ayeesha Rai, Coordinator of the National Network of Sex Workers (NNSW) and Sex Workers and Allies South Asia (SWASA)
– Jeeva M, General Secretary of Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union (TTCU)
– Funmi Fasan, Vice President General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria
– Ann Abunda, Chairperson of Sandigan Kuwait & Sandigan Kuwait Domestic Worker Association
– Chantal Flores, a Mexican independent journalist investigating the impact of enforced disappearance on women
– Maryam Monsef, Co-founder of the Red Pashmina Campaign and the former Minister for Women and Gender Equality in Canada