Landmark Agreements to Combat Gender-based Violence and Harassment in Lesotho’s Garment Industry
Lesotho garment workers achieve landmark deals to tackle gender-based violence, and India introduced child-friendly courts.
We are pleased to share the announcement of a set of landmark agreements among major apparel brands, one of their key suppliers and a coalition of labor unions and women’s rights advocates to combat gender-based violence and harassment in Lesotho’s garment sector.
The agreements arose from an investigation by the Worker Rights Consortium, which exposed and documented a long-standing pattern of abuse and harassment in Nien Hsing Textile factories in the country. In response to the revelations, the brands have agreed to bring in outside oversight and enforcement to benefit more than 10,000 apparel workers, the vast majority of whom are women. These binding agreements represent the first enforceable instrument to protect workers from sexual harassment in the contract factories of global apparel brands.
The program features an independent complaint investigation body with the power to direct punishment of abusive managers and supervisors, up to and including dismissal. In the case of the brands, they can be subject to legal action for violating the program’s terms. Such consequences are critical to ensuring that workplace improvements are implemented and maintained over time. The agreements were modeled after the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ (CIW) Fair Food Program, which has been successful in addressing a culture of sexual harassment and gender-based violence that had persisted for years in the U.S. agricultural industry.
This is the second example of a Worker-Driven Social Responsibility Network program in the global apparel industry, following the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, and the first international agreement to have been the product of intensive collaboration among founding members of the WSR Network. The program represents a success story of cooperation among multiple organizations across borders and industries to advance workers’ fundamental human rights. The WCR released a second statement about the history that led up to last week’s announcement, explaining the roles of the organizations that contributed to this breakthrough.
Here’s a recap of other noteworthy updates and news:
“We Need to Do Better,” a new study released by ECPAT-USA analyses information from 538 news reports of crimes related to child sexual abuse material from 48 of the 50 U.S. states over three months. The report draws attention to the tremendous growth in the production and dissemination of child sexual abuse material and provides recommendations for policies.
Male slavery survivors in the UK struggle to get support in a system largely focused on women
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