Violence and harassment are systemic risks across transport supply chains that disproportionately affect women. These abuses undermine safety, health and dignity, restrict access to decent work and expose companies to serious legal, operational and reputational damage – yet they are often normalised or underreported due to stigma, fear of retaliation or lack of effective grievance mechanisms.
Transport is recognised in ILO Recommendation 206 as one of the sectors most exposed to violence and harassment under ILO Convention 190 (C190). C190 confirms that violence and harassment are occupational safety and health (OSH) risks to be prevented and remediated accordingly – including third-party violence and risks associated with commuting, as set out in ITF’s guidance on C190. The lack of safe access to sanitation facilities can also heighten that exposure further, and domestic violence also intersects with work, affecting attendance, performance and workplace safety. These risks are compounded by other intersecting human rights risks in this guidance and should be addressed together.
The nature of transport work increases exposure: high mobility work, lone working and isolation, cross-border operations and public-facing roles all increase exposure to third-party violence from passengers, customers, coworkers, authorities and the public. Handling money, enforcing tickets or operating in high-risk environments further elevate risk. Subcontracting and precarious employment can weaken accountability and deter reporting, while informal or misclassified workers may have no protection at all.
Violence and harassment also intersect with forced labour risk and discrimination, particularly where workers are dependent on employers or intermediaries and cannot leave abusive situations. Segregated and precarious work heightens exposure of women transport workers, with young, migrant and LGBT+ workers also at increased risk.
Transport buyers and suppliers must treat violence and harassment as an OSH risk within HREDD. Prevention must be integrated into OSH frameworks, aligned with C190, and explicitly address gender-based violence, third-party violence and risks during commuting. This should be supported by training and awareness at every level, from management to workforce.
Companies must assess how their commercial decisions create risk, work organisation and design, subcontracting, isolation and lone working, understaffing, insecure work and inadequate access to sanitation facilities. Workers must have access to confidential reporting and grievance mechanisms, and be able to report incidents, refuse unsafe work and access protection without retaliation or loss of income. Risk assessments must be gender-responsive and address vulnerable groups. Companies must also address safe commuting and work-related travel.
Where incidents occur, companies must act immediately to investigate, protect workers and provide remedy. Failure to act exposes companies to legal liability, regulatory scrutiny, operational disruption and reputational damage. Effective prevention depends on engagement with workers and their trade unions, including the ITF, to identify risks, negotiate protections and monitor implementation across supply chains.