Why breaking the silence on domestic violence is a priority for transport workers’ unions.
Violence at work continues to be an endemic issue in the global transport industry. Many transport workers face domestic violence, which can have a huge impact on their working lives and wellbeing, as well as the wider world of work.
More than 80 people joined a virtual roundtable hosted by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), bringing together women union leaders and transport workers in both the formal and informal sectors from around the world. They convened to discuss the impact that domestic violence has on workers and workplaces.
Held as part of the NGO CSW Forum that runs in parallel to the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women currently taking place in New York, the meeting provided a platform for women leaders to share their experiences of leading work on domestic violence, and to explore opportunities to take this work forward within unions and for collaborative efforts to work to eradicate domestic violence.
The ITF also released the executive summary of new national domestic violence study, ‘Impacts of domestic violence on workplaces in Nepal’. Conducted by the Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children (CREVAWC) in partnership with the ITF, and representing the experiences of 3,785 Nepalese women employed in the transport sector, findings show that when workers experience domestic violence at home, it reverberates in the workplace. Key points include:
Most women employed in Nepal’s transport sector (72%) have experienced domestic violence
26% of women victims of domestic violence report that the perpetrator works in the same workplace.
- Workers often receive abusive messages from their abuser whilst at work.
- Disclosing domestic violence can make workers more vulnerable to judgment, being taken advantage of by other male workers, or job losses.
The women leaders from the ITF unions in Nepal – ITWAN, NETWON and UNITRAV – who coordinated implementation of the national study reflected on their experiences of the study and shared some of the key findings. The women leaders from some of the ITF unions in India who conducted a national domestic violence study in India in 2020 spoke about how the unions have been using the results of the survey.
Chair of the ITF’s Women Transport Workers’ Committee Meryem Halouani said: “Domestic violence is not a personal matter; It has an impact on the world of work. As trade unions, we must break the silence, and I pay tribute to those unions who speak out day after day on the issue. Together, we can break the taboos and make workplaces safer spaces for women.”
Jennifer Murray, Vice-Chair of the Committee added: “I cannot stress how important it is to continue to fight against the inequities that we see every single day. We’re the voices that carry these messages to governments. Laws must change, so we push for stronger laws. We know that our work won’t be completed for a very long time, so we continue to push, together.”
During the meeting, reference was also by speakers to ILO Convention 190 on Violence and harassment in the world of work, which recognises the impacts of domestic violence and requires action, so far as is reasonably practicable, to mitigate its impact in the world of work.
In closing the meeting, the ITF’s C190 transport workers’ toolkit (which includes a briefing on domestic violence) was highlighted as an important resource to help address domestic violence as a union and workplace issue.
Notes:
- The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW) – the UN’s largest annual gathering on gender equality and women’s empowerment is holding its 69th session at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 10 to 21 March 2025.
- UN CSW69 marks the 30th anniversary of the 4th World Conference on Women and is reviewing progress on states’ implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action that was adopted in 1995.
