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ABSTRACT Socially and economically, Bangladesh is passing through a transitional phase. An increasing number of women are working outside the home. In Dhaka alone about a million young women are working in garment industries, which often demands working till late hours at night. This paper examines whether these garment workers (GWs) are safe and free from emotional and sexual harassment while working or commuting to their workplace. Using the ILO framework of eight essential securities, the paper further explores how far these securities are available to the garment workers. The paper is based both on a survey of 726 GWs and 30 in-depth interviews collected from young women working in garment industries of Dhaka. Findings indicate that most of these women face harassment, both while commuting to the workplace and at their jobs. Common harassments during commuting were touching or pinching of the body, making indecent remarks, proposing sex, and threatening women if they did not oblige them or keep silent. At the workplace, similar harassment by male supervisors and employers was reported, though less frequently. Coping mechanisms include commuting in groups, neglecting or being nonresponsive, and in some cases even obliging to the demands of harassers. Many workers reported being in constant fear. Some of them drop out from the job or request day shifts only, limiting their opportunities to earn more. The results against ILO-defined essential security also are far from satisfactory, showing very limited job security, opportunities to grow, opportunities to learn new skills, and indeed physical safety/security. Learning objectives
Poster Session 3165.0—Gender-based Discrimination and Violence
Against Women This page updated |
