The struggle to end domestic violence needs to include a push to transform societal understanding of gender roles, and employers have a key role to play in this effort and, increasingly, an obligation to do so. Credit: Shutterstock

By Negar Mohtashami Khojasteh
MONTREAL, Canada, Nov 19 2024 (IPS)

In Indonesia’s humid heat, I watched as dozens of men on motorcycles lingered outside the garment factory gates, their children hanging off their shoulders, as they waited for their partners to finish their shift. These men – many without jobs of their own – came to pick up the women who provide for their families.

In Sukabumi – where the main employers are garment factories, and their workers are predominantly women – women are the backbone of the economy. And yet these women often face violence both at work and at home – and their employers can and should be doing much more to help.

While financial independence can be a protective factor against domestic violence, in societies where patriarchal attitudes prevail, women breadwinners disrupt the traditional household power dynamics and can face a backlash from their husbands, as men use violence to reassert control

“Almost all married women in my village are facing domestic violence,” one garment worker confided. Another said domestic violence is an open secret in her village, a harsh reality of being a married woman and a breadwinner.

Human Rights Watch has documented horrifying human rights violations suffered by women working in garment factories across Asian countries, where low wages, grueling working hours, unsafe working conditions, and verbal abuse and harassment are often rampant and workplace sexual harassment of women workers all too common.

Yet when these women go home, many also face another form of abuse: domestic violence, driven in part by resentment over how they are perceived to have subverted gender roles by becoming breadwinners.

This pattern is not unique to Indonesia or women garment workers. In Bangladesh, studies have shown a correlation between women working and their experiencing domestic violence, notably among women who married young or have lower levels of education.

A study across multiple countries in Africa found that employment for women “is positively correlated with the probability of being abused” in the home. In Australia, new research has shown that women who earn more than their male partners are 33 percent more likely to experience domestic violence.

While financial independence can be a protective factor against domestic violence, in societies where patriarchal attitudes prevail, women breadwinners disrupt the traditional household power dynamics and can face a backlash from their husbands, as men use violence to reassert control.

This violence can manifest itself in the form of controlling the woman’s income, physical beatings and sexual violence, and psychological and verbal abuse.

The struggle to end domestic violence needs to include a push to transform societal understanding of gender roles, and employers have a key role to play in this effort and, increasingly, an obligation to do so.

After many years of campaigning by activists and labor movements, and as the #MeToo movement was growing, the International Labor Organization adopted a new Convention on Violence and Harassment (C190) in 2019, which includes requirements for employers to mitigate the harm of domestic violence. While Indonesia and Bangladesh have yet to ratify it, 45 countries have already ratified the convention, and the number is steadily growing.

As employers, especially in industries where women hold many of the jobs, implement internal policies to combat gender-based violence and harassment at work, they also need to recognize their important role in assisting workers who are experiencing domestic violence.

It is not a separate issue, and the effects of domestic violence are not restricted to the home. Domestic violence affects the well-being of employees, affecting their health, safety, and long-term performance at work. In some cases, it literally follows them to work.

During my research, I interviewed witnesses who told me they saw a woman physically assaulted by her husband just outside the garment factory before starting her shift. By acknowledging this connection, employers can take meaningful steps to protect their workforce from all forms of violence, creating a safer environment for women both in and outside of work.

Researchers have documented a connection between a woman’s bargaining power in the home and her safety. Employers can play a vital role in helping women protect themselves by offering a supportive environment at work that provides concrete assistance.

Measures outlined in the International Labour Organization’s Violence and Harassment Convention Recommendation 206 like flexible work arrangements, paid leave for domestic violence survivors, and temporary protection against dismissal can serve as a critical lifeline, empowering women with an option to leave abusive situations. In this way, employers not only increase women’s bargaining power but also actively contribute to a pathway out of violence.

Domestic violence is not a private issue, contrary to some views. Under the ILO convention, employers have a responsibility to help. This is an enormously important duty; how an employer responds to a situation where one of their workers is experiencing domestic violence can have life and death consequences.

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Negar Mohtashami Khojasteh is with the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch.