The National Survey on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work in Argentina reflected that 6 out of 10 workers suffered situations of labor violence. The survey was prepared by the National University of Avellaneda and the National Inter-Union Network against Labor Violence, with the impulse of the Spotlight Initiative, an alliance between the European Union and the United Nations for the end of gender violence, and implemented through the International Organization of the Trabajo.La survey will be presented on December 15 one year after the publication of Law 27,580, which gave approval to the ratification of ILO Convention 190 on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work by the National Congress.
The main objective of this work is to provide systematized information on this problem, strengthen the role of trade unions as key actors for the prevention of violence and harassment and contribute to the construction of public policies to address and eradicate them. The results of the survey show that 6 out of 10 workers experienced or experience some situation of violence at work, while 3 out of 10 said they suffered it in their current job. Psychological violence is the one that accounted for the most mentions (78% of cases), followed by situations linked to discrimination (67%), and finally, sexual (52%) and physical (35%) violence. Meanwhile, workplace violence is higher among women and non-binary people, 65.5% and 87.6% respectively, while among men the percentage reaches 43.5%.
Workplace violence is more prevalent among workers over 30 years of age and among those with higher levels of education. In the same way, for 15.8% of workers, situations of violence increased from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, while for 3.3% they appeared for the first time during that time. The survey corroborated that violence in the workplace is mostly exercised from hierarchical positions, protected by power asymmetries. According to the data, hierarchical superiors exercise, to a greater extent, psychological violence, discrimination and sexist comments, while users, clients and patients, have a priority role in physical violence.
Another relevant fact is that only 3 out of 10 people who suffered violence or harassment in the workplace made the complaint and among these people, it was the unions that mostly accompanied the workers in the realization of these claims. Along with some recommendations for trade union organizations, the study calls for the hierarchization of the spaces for attention, consultation and production of information from the State, the discussion and elaboration of a normative framework and the construction of networks between union actors and official bodies that allow a comprehensive approach to cases.
According to Convention 190, which will enter into force in our country on February 23, 2022, violence and harassment in the world of work is a set of unacceptable behaviors and practices, or threats of such behaviors and practices, that manifest themselves only once or repeatedly, which have as their object, that cause or are likely to cause physical, psychological, sexual or economic harm, including gender-based violence and harassment. Argentina is today one of the nine countries that ratified this norm at the international level, the first to specifically address this issue and to recognize the right to work free of violence and harassment. Gender-based violence
The percentages of workplace violence are higher in women and non-binary people: among men, 43.5% responded that they experienced workplace violence, while for women it reaches 65.5% and 87.6% for non-binary people. In the case of discrimination, women and people with non-binary gender show to be the most vulnerable (72.5% and 92.4% respectively). The perception of this type of violence, as well as the psychological one, increases at a higher educational level.
In sexual violence, there are also large differences according to gender: women suffer from it in 59.5% and non-binary people in 83.7%. Physical violence is mostly experienced by those who do not perceive themselves as male or female (75.9%), while there are no major differences between binary genders (34.6% in women and 33.9% in men). This type of violence does not present differences by age range, level educativo and sector in the economic structure. 27.4% of women and 44.8% of non-binary people considered that their self-perceived gender negatively influenced the treatment received, while in men, only 5.4% expressed this situation.
The male gender, unlike the female and non-binary people, maintains a situation of less vulnerability in almost all the variables analyzed. Younger segments are those who perceive in greater proportion that gender status negatively influences women and other non-male genders in situations of violence. When analyzing this problem by sector of the economy, the survey shows that gender has a greater negative influence on domestic work (57.7%), extractive activities (61.7%), art and recreation (47.9%), as well as professional and technical activities (41.8%). As for suffering some type of discrimination while taking pregnancies, 12.1% of the pregnant people surveyed said they had gone through this situation. The percentage of people who perceived having suffered worse treatment and/or discrimination during pregnancy increases as the level of education increases, reaching 20.8%. On the other hand, the profile of the perpetrator, when referring to psychological violence, discrimination and sexist comments, is usually male in a position of hierarchical superior, followed by peers. Violence during the pandemic
The survey also investigates the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic had on workplace violence: 15.8% stated that situations of violence increased during this period, while for 3.3%, they appeared for the first time. Among those who reported an increase, or an emergence of situations of violence and harassment, 84.3% referred to psychological violence and then situations of discrimination (27.6%), physical violence (9.7%) and sexual harassment (6.3%).
4 out of 10 people surveyed said there had been no change since the beginning of the quarantine, while 3 out of 10 said there had never been any violence at work. However, almost 16% stated that situations of violence increased. Particularly significant is that in the younger sector (compared to the other age groups) there is an increase in mentions that point to physical violence, sexual harassment and discrimination. Although about 13% indicated that situations decreased during the pandemic, probably due to remote work or not having to attend workplaces in person, it is important to note that in the context of teleworking these situations could mutate into cyberbullying. We must not lose sight of the fact that ILO Convention 190 incorporates those situations “within the framework of communications that are related to work, including those carried out through information and communication technologies” and calls for addressing cyberbullying as a specific type of workplace violence. Types of violence by sector of the economy
Psychological violence stands out above the others among workers in the primary sector of the economy (livestock and agriculture) with 91.5% of affirmative answers, while the secondary sector (industry and construction) and tertiary (services, commerce, health and education) show lower but similar percentages: 77.6% and 77.5%, respectively. Disaggregated by item, a large gap can be observed in the “private households that hire domestic service” whose percentage of affirmative answers is 38%. The answers are variable depending on the item, but usually exceed 70% of affirmative answers to have suffered psychological violenceThe percentage of workers who suffered sexual harassment is increasing along with the degree of studies achieved. People with a full university degree are those who reported the highest percentage of sexual harassment with 65.2%, more than 10 points above people with a complete tertiary. It is possible that the more education you have greater the tools and resources to make visible and recognize this type of situation.
Contrasting the cases of sexual harassment in relation to economic activity we can see that both the primary and secondary sectors have the highest percentages of people who claimed to be victims of sexual harassment (71.9% and 61.4%, respectively). The sectors with the highest percentage of affirmative responses regarding sexual violence were: Agriculture, Livestock, Hunting and Related Services with 88.3%, Health Services with 62.1%, Financial Activities, with 66.4% and Public Administration with 61.3%. The restor of the items remains above 40%. The data collected suggest that the workers who perceived the greatest physical violence are those who are working in the tertiary sector with 34.9%, and the primary sector with 34.7%. While 62.1% of people in secondary economic activities responded not to have suffered physical violence. The percentages on the presence of this type of violence in all sectors remains between 22 and 48%. As for physical threats, or having been beaten, the figure of clients/users/patients, etc., was the one that emerged more frequently than the rest of the hierarchical positions, followed by colleagues or peers. The role of trade unions
30% of the workers surveyed stated that they had reported a situation of labor violence, either experienced by them or by third parties. The unions were the mediators mostly appointed by those who made complaints. Among those who did not make the complaint, 27% indicated that they did not believe that the act of denunciation was of any use and almost 20% stated that they did not think it was relevant to make it. Other mentions that deserve attention are those that refer to the fear of losing one’s job (15%) and the lack of knowledge of who to turn to to make the complaint (13%).
When asked the respondents who answered the question on complaints of situations of violence, what they considered to be the priority actions that unions should promote, they highlighted the importance of forming specific or interdisciplinary teams (31.6%), followed by the need to develop procedures and protocols to address situations of violence (30.3%), and a step below on the need to develop and deepen actions of training and awareness-raising on the issue (25.4%). As a roadmap against violence in the world of work, trade union action identified the need to:
Promote the formation of interdisciplinary teams
Implement and increase trade union training for the treatment of situations of violence and harassment in the workplace in order to develop and improve procedures for their detection and approach, especially for those in middle and senior management
Deepen awareness-raising and prevention campaigns, as well as disseminate available normative, institutional and trade union resources.
Deepen awareness-raising, awareness-raising, prevention and trade union intervention, particularly in the face of gender-based violence.
Participate in the design and promote the implementation of prevention protocols and interventions that involve the employer sector.
For advice and / or complaints about violence and / or harassment in the world of work contact the Advice Office on Workplace Violence: (011) 4310-5525 or free at 0800-666-4100.Also with Line 144 (situations of gender-based violence) free of charge 24 hours a day, 365 days, through a call to 144, by WhatsApp to the 1127716463 or by mail to linea144@mingeneros.gob.ar.
