The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) says the Federal Government failure to ratify and domesticate the Convention 190 which discourages Gender-Based Violence and Harassment (GBVH) in the world of work is responsible for increasing violence against women in the country.
The Head of Women and Youth Department of NLC, Rita Goyit, said this at a virtual workshop in commemoration of International Women’s Day
She said a large percentage of women in both formal and informal sectors are going through hell as they are being harassed and find it difficult to express themselves while suffering in silence.
Goyit said ratification and domestication of the Convention 190 would make workplaces free from violence and harassment, boost productivity AND put Nigeria on the list of countries promoting human rights.
The Deputy Chairperson, National Women Commission of NLC, Salamatu Aliu, said her group would not back down on its campaigns against GBVH “until government and employers do the needful to protect women in Nigeria.”
Senior Programme Officer, Solidarity Center AFL-CIO, Nkechi Odinukwe, listed displacement, armed conflict, terrorism, migration and increased globalization of economic activities and COVID-19 pandemic as factors compounding woes of women across 36 states of the federation.
“Within this COVID-19 pandemic period, gender-based violence especially rape and domestic violence against women workers have risen to exponential levels as women who could get away from abusive partners before the pandemic now find they have to forcefully stay in same spaces with their abuser due to social distancing restrictions,” she said.
