Preamble

Question 2: should there be a binding Convention supplemented by a Recommendation, or only a Convention or only a Recommendation, which would not be binding on all parties?

Most governments and workers’ organizations argued in favour of a Convention supplemented by a Recommendation, whereas a majority of employers’ organizations favoured a Recommendation. Most had a preference for a Convention supplemented by a Recommendation, preferring two separate instruments, enabling further guidance to be given and to enable those countries that had not ratified the Convention to have an instrument they could use and to “serve as a foundation for the normative changes, as well as for the design of public policies and dissemination of good practices” (ILO 2018b: 10). Of the 85 government replies, two supported a Convention, 30 supported a Recommendation and 48 both. Responses from employers were largely supportive of a Recommendation; out of 26 replies, one favoured a Convention, 11 a Recommendation and four both. Among workers, out of a total of 178 replies, nine supported a Convention, five a Recommendation and 164 both. This was a reflection of effective advocacy in the global campaign to end GBV, which had advocated for the need for a binding Convention, not just a Recommendation, for many years.

Question 5: should the preamble of the instrument or instruments state the right of everyone to a world of work free from violence and harassment, including gender-based violence?

Until this point there was no global binding treaty recognizing the right to be free from violence and harassment in the world of work. All but one of the workers’ organizations that submitted responses to the questionnaire took the position that it was particularly important for the preamble to address GBV because women and those who do not conform to societal perceptions of gender roles and norms are at greater risk. Reference to the 2016 meeting of experts underlined the importance of addressing the gender dimensions of violence and harassment in the instrument(s). There was significant support to include reference to GBV in the preamble of the proposed instrument(s) in order to take account of the “greater risks faced by women and those who do not conform to societal perceptions of gender roles and norms” (ILO 2018b: 14).