Subscribe to our newsletter here
“Sexual harassment is all around us. We see it when we walk the streets of our hometowns, when we board our morning commute and when we go online and surf the web. It follows us wherever we go and makes us feel unsafe in the places we should feel most secure,” said Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon in his statement on the adoption of the Israel-sponsored UN resolution “Preventing and eliminating sexual harassment in the workplace”. The resolution was co-sponsored by countries from all continents and regional groups (see list below), thus representing hundreds of millions of people from different cultures and religions.
Even though men and boys are also harassed, women and girls are most frequently the victims of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is an impediment to women’s economic freedom and their advancement in the workplace. It is an affront to the dignity of all workers and hinders the progress in achieving gender equality.
Nelly Shilo, Minister Counselor at the Permanent Mission of Israel to the UN hopes “that this resolution will give them a voice, a voice of support, a voice that clearly says that the dignity of a person, men and women alike, is not something that can be ignored, and should be dealt with in the most serious manner.”
The resolution condemns sexual harassment in all its forms, especially against women and girls, and emphasizes the need to take all necessary measures to prevent and eliminate it. It recognizes the phenomenon as a form of violence and discrimination against women and girls and expresses concern about the large number of women worldwide that have reported being sexually harassed in their workplace and the critical issue of underreporting by the victims.
The resolution equally highlights the need to take all necessary measures to prevent and eliminate sexual harassment. It encourages member states to raise awareness regarding the rights of victims and the means of accessing redress and justice and to take measures to educate children from a young age regarding the importance of treating all people with dignity and respect and to teach them that sexual harassment is an abuse of human rights. It further advocates to promote research, and collect and analyze data and statistics. Another component of the resolution is to take measures to encourage employers to take steps in order to prevent and address sexual harassment by their employees in and outside the workplace
Although at least 125 countries have passed laws on sexual harassment up to 60% of women have experienced it in their workplace. Shilo is confident that “despite the varying views, different legislation and social norms regarding sexual harassment, we strongly believe that it is the common understanding among all member states that this issue needs to be addressed. […] The workplace is where we spend most of our waking hours. Side-by-side working with people from different social-economic statuses, different religions, and different backgrounds.”
Ambassador Danon called the adoption “a milestone for Israel at the UN. Israel is proud of our biannual resolutions on agriculture and entrepreneurship in the second committee. Yet today is the first time we have submitted a resolution focusing on an important human rights issue. We are encouraged by the fact that this resolution received the consensus it so rightfully deserved.”
List of co-sponsors:
WEOG
· United States of America
· Canada
· Australia
· New Zealand
· Greece
Asia-Pacific
· Japan
· Korea
· Palau
· The Philippines
Eastern European Group
· Ukraine
· Georgia
· Belarus
Latin America and the Caribbean’s
· Peru
· Colombia
· Suriname
· Uruguay
· Panama
· El-Salvador
· Jamaica
Africa
· Kenya
Subscribe to our newsletter here