Violence and harassment in the world of work as a gender problem

Abstract

The problem of violence and harassment in the sphere of social and labor relations is actualized as a gender problem, the representation of which is difficult due to insufficient case studies and latency. The article analyzes statistical data and conducted quantitative sociological surveys, the author's qualitative research "The activities of trade unions in promoting the principles of gender equality" by the method of in-depth interviews of representatives and leaders of Russian trade unions who are experts in the field of gender. The empirical base made it possible to identify the level of harassment severity in the workplace, to prioritize in comparison with other issues of economic discrimination based on gender, the readiness of society to discuss it openly and publicly. The range of reasons why people are discriminated against in the workplace, their conditionality by the level of material well-being, determinism by poverty, employment industry, and the difference in the interpretation of cultural and moral norms in generations is determined. As a mechanism that could be a step towards changing the attitude of the members of social partnership to violence and harassment in the world of work the respondents discussed the ILO Convention 190 “About Eliminating of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work” (2019), restrictions on its ratification due to the current political and international situation. It is concluded that the active role of Russian trade unions, their gender structures, which are associative members of international trade union organizations in educational, informational work, real assistance to victims, as well as participation in the development of legislative initiatives and recommendations in the enforcement of existing laws, remains. The need to search for internal tools to solve the problem of violence and harassment in the sphere of social and labor relations, redirection of the public agenda into a constructive way is predicted.