Cases of gender-based violence have surged in the recent past, especially during the Covid-Pandemic.
In 2018, gender-based violence was described as both “a global pandemic” and “a mark of shame to societies” by the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres.
Global statistics indicate that 1 in every 3 women is affected by GBV. The forms of gender-based violence vary from sexual, physical to economic and psychological.
Of these forms, sexual and physical violence (or domestic violence) especially between intimate partners are the most common.
Locally, there have been countless reports of gender-based violence dominating news headlines. For corporates, there’s a huge chance of influencing the outcome of all efforts aimed at eradicating gender-based violence at the office.
At Taxmart Kenya, our commitment to ensuring our workplace is GBV-free is unwavering. Below are some of the ways we feel corporates should follow and implement to build a safe, GBV-free workspace.
Five Steps Companies Can Take to Provide a Safe Gender-Based Violence Free Workspace
Most organizations would wish to join the fight and create safe working environments but are probably not sure where to begin. Below are strategies to provide a starting point.
Prevent Violence and Harassment by Identifying Potential Risks
GBV affects businesses of all kinds. Knowing which areas pose a potential risk is the first place to begin the fight against GBV.
Companies can invest in tools and build policies, regulations, cultures, programs, and much more that the company can rely on self-assess on GBV scores.
For companies in places where GBV is more prone, companies can develop training programs around gender-based violence-related issues to help support employees who are either victims directly or indirectly.
Commit to Gender Equality and Diversity Across the Workplace
Persons in senior leadership positions like CEOs and top-level managers need to prove and openly display their commitment to diverse, equal, and respectful workplaces.
This needs to be backed by resources and actions that would then form the foundation for tackling gender-based violence cases at the workplace.
By doing this, the organization can tackle the root cause of the problem, especially gender inequality thereby creating trust amongst staff.
In the absence of the above, any campaign to raise awareness on gender-based violence would likely come out as tokenistic and lack legitimacy in the eyes of the employees.
Examples of foundational actions by companies include providing official leave days of up to 10 days for any staff experiencing gender-based violence at home or in the office. This was first introduced by Vodafone.
Protect Employees With Supportive Policies and Procedures
Policies and procedures with clear reporting and grievance mechanisms are the keys to empowering staff to feel free to report or take appropriate action.
Clear policies and procedures are critical also to help reassure survivors, accused perpetrators, bystanders, and whistle-blowers that the organization will take serious action and handle the case effectively.
Unilever Tea Kenya undertook an independent review to identify and prevent sexual and gender-based violence, an issue that they figured out was rampant in the tea plantation sector.
The outcome of the review process resulted in a series of recommendations that yielded policies and procedures that made it easier for employees to report cases with confidence knowing that they shall be dealt with conclusively.
Collaborate and Campaign Beyond the Immediate Workplace
Thinking outside the workplace and looking at the business network as a whole is critical.
Such sector-wide approaches, including suppliers and consumers, can impact the success of awareness campaigns in a country and boost the chances of success in handling highly ingrained issues of GBV.
Companies and organizations have the power to influence opinions, views, societal practices, and behaviors through different activities such as advertising and sponsored campaigns.
This is more impactful where most of the issues campaigned against are aligned with the core business objectives with connections to culturally relevant reference points.
Be Accountable and Monitor Action
If you’ve set actions to be taken by the company against gender-based violence, it benefits to know whether such actions are benefiting your employees. You most likely wish to know whether the same actions are keeping tabs with legal changes.
This is what necessitates monitoring and accountability. The best approach is to first use the general standards adopted by the concerned ministry or use the Business for Social Responsibility Diagnostic tool.
Once such is in place, then you need to set up feedback mechanisms to better understand and assess your employees’ uptake of the programs and new policies.
This can be achieved through surveys and open-ended questionnaires that allow employees to share views on resource allocation to fight GBV.
Taxmart Kenya’s Position on Gender-Based Violence
Taxmart Kenya recognizes that in all organizations, there is a risk of workplace-based violence and workplace-based harassment based on gender.
We acknowledge the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and its impact on experiences of violence and harassment, and that gender-based violence and harassment disproportionately affect women and girls.
To this effect, we have instituted measures, policies, and programs to counter gender-based violence at work and also established training and awareness programs to help any staff experiencing GBV outside the workplace.
We also ascribe to WEP’S (weps.org) gender-based violence monitoring and reporting system which you can review by downloading this document.
Our principles of inclusivity, openness, and prompt reporting helps keep our workplace safe and trustworthy.
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