News Center- ILO Convention No.190, the convention concerning the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work came into force on June 25, 2021; two years after its adoption by the International Labour Conference. Until now, the Violence and Harassment Convention (No. 190) has been ratified by six countries; Argentina, Ecuador, Fiji, Namibia, Somalia, and Uruguay. ILO and international unions launched a global campaign to build support for the ratification of the convention all around the world between 21 and 25 June. Ebru Özberk Anlı, ILO’s Senior Programme Officer in Turkey answered the questions of Elif Sinirlioğlu of the women’s workers’ online newspaper called Kadın İşçi (Woman Worker). “We want and care about this convention to be ratified and effectively implemented by our country. In this way, we believe that an important step will be taken to prevent violence and harassment in working life,” Ebru Özberk Anlı said.

Why is this convention important?

ILO’s Convention No.190 on the Prevention of Violence and Harassment is the first international treaty to address violence and harassment in the world of work. Besides being the first and only international treaty, there are other firsts that the convention actually brings to the agenda; the most important of these is that it has drawn a comprehensive framework for the prevention of violence and harassment in the workplace. For instance, it has drawn a comprehensive framework for workers and other persons in the world of work, including employees as well as persons working irrespective of their contractual status, persons in training, including interns and apprentices, workers whose employment has been terminated, volunteers, job seekers and job applicants, and individuals exercising the authority, duties or responsibilities of an employer.

“It addresses all kinds of violence cases”

In addition, it considers the ‘workplace’ beyond its traditional boundaries. It addresses violence and harassment broadly to include all forms of violence in the workplace, including public and private spaces where they are a place of work during work-related trips, travel, training, events or social activities through work-related communications, including those enabled by information and communication technologies. The Convention doesn’t ignore domestic violence, which unfortunately comes to the fore more and faced more particularly during the pandemic.

“This convention sees the future”

Therefore, we are talking about a convention that covers many forms and situations of violence, including domestic violence and violence against women, which existed before the pandemic. The convention also recognizes violence and harassment are threats to equal opportunity and an inclusive, integrated and gender-responsive approach for the prevention and elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work. So we can say that it is an international convention that can be valid in any situation, under any condition, it sees the future.

As ILO Office for Turkey, what kind of works have you carried out for ratification of the convention by Turkey?

In parallel with the global campaigns launched by the ILO, we, as ILO office for Turkey, have been carrying out various works since 2019, when the convention was adopted, to bring this convention to the public agenda, to point out how this convention is important and to raise awareness about it. Because we think that the ratification of the convention, which has been ratified by six countries so far, in our country will be an important tool in the fight against violence and harassment in working life. We have organized important events. Six months after the convention was adopted, we held a well-attended meeting, attended by the relevant parties; we both brought the convention to the public for the first time and also called for its ratification. Also, we tried to bring this issue to the agenda within the scope of the 16 Days of Activism campaign carried out by the UN between 25 November and 10 December every year to prevent gender-based violence.

“We have tried to raise awareness”

Surely, we have also organized many awareness and communication activities. Particularly during the pandemic, we have carried out our works on digital platforms. We are trying to raise awareness on this issue using various methods such as digital short stories, social media platforms, websites, and the Internet. Within the scope of our cooperation with the unions, we have also carried out technical support activities in order to bring the C190 convention to their agenda, to raise awareness of this issue.