Revealed: women making clothes for the west face sexual abuse | Global development

Factory workers producing clothing and footwear in Vietnam – many, probably for major US and European brands – face systemic badual harbadment and workplace violence, Observer can reveal.

Nearly half (43.1%) of the 763 women surveyed in factories in three Vietnamese provinces reported having experienced at least one form of violence and / or harbadment in the previous year, according to a published study Monday by the Fair Wear Foundation and Care International.

Abuses – ranging from trial and error to rape and threats of contract termination – shed light on the working conditions faced by women in some Vietnamese factories with up to 20,000 employees, said Jane Pillinger. expert in gender-based violence and author. of the study.

"I am shocked that almost 50% of the women interviewed have experienced some form of violence in the past year and I have been working on this issue for 30 years," she said. "There is an important culture of silence around this and, as a result, the figures are probably even higher: some information has taught us that some women would not answer interview questions, perhaps because they feared that their answers would come back to their answers. employers or husbands. "

Research is the first to establish a correlation between violence and badual harbadment in garment factories and the endemic work factors of the "fast fashion" industry. These include excessive overtime, low wages, long working hours and unrealistic production targets imposed by well-known brands, "said Annabel Meurs, Vietnamese National Director of the Fair Wear Foundation, a non-profit organization. non-profit making up 130 members.

The study revealed that the employee's age, educational level and migrant status – as well as her type of contract – determined the level of violence, with younger and more educated women, as well as migrant workers. less well off.

"We were shocked by the bad effects it had," said Meurs. "Violence and harbadment affect the productivity, competitiveness and reputation of the company, as well as the integrity, health and well-being of women. It sounds simple, but most clothing brands do not know they have so much influence on the soil conditions of factories. "

Although the names of the factories and brands they provide have been kept secret to encourage participation in the study, it is "very likely" that they include European and US brands, Pillinger said.

"The Vietnamese government's strategy is to attract [international] the garment industry, and has built huge factories producing fast turnaround times for the mostly European and American markets for clothing, footwear and outerwear, "she said. "They are likely to be involved because they are important suppliers to Vietnam, but we can not say exactly what brands they are. Whatever it is, they are related to brands in one context or another. "

About 2 million people are employed in the clothing sector in Vietnam, of whom more than 80% are women. But women suffer disproportionately, according to the study. A large majority of respondents (87.7%) were victims of unwelcome verbal abuse and harbadment over the past year, defined as inappropriate or shocking comments about their bodies, jokes or badual activity; half (49.5%) had experienced violence or harbadment between home and work; one-third (34.3%) had been physically harbaded, such as kissing or touching, hitting, hitting or leaning; and one-third (28.9%) had experienced non-verbal harbadment, such as gestures, noises or obscene looks, or emails, offensive texts or behaviors that affected their safety, such as being followed at home.

Employees also indicated that they worked up to 90 hours per month during peak periods, in addition to their 12 to 13 hour days. Almost half of the women had worked more than 60 hours a month, but many said that overtime was unpaid.

The women described the high-pressure work environments, so tense that they were afraid to take breaks to go to the bathroom, for fear of repercussions. "I do not dare go to the bathroom," said a worker in Ho Chi Minh City. "If we go to the bathroom too much, the presence is recorded and our salary is deducted."

"When they scream at us and scold us, it only makes things worse," said an employee from Hai Duong Province. "There is a lot of screaming to get us to work harder."

The study found a strong correlation between overtime and workplace abuse. Violence and harbadment were 3.8 times more likely during the high season than the rest of the year. 2.4 times more likely when workers report working 30 or more hours a month; and 1.6 times more likely when workers can not refuse to work overtime. A worker from Dong Nai Province said, "My supervisor hits me and hits my hands with a stick. He throws me objects. "

Violence and harbadment were also 1.5 times more prevalent among women aged 25 and under; 1.7 times more likely for women graduating from high school or higher; twice as likely for migrant workers; and twice as likely for women who worked at the factory for one year or less.

Despite the growing popularity of social media campaigns in Vietnam aimed at raising public awareness of badual harbadment, such as #MeToo and #ngungimlang (stop silence), most garment industry workers have stated that They were too afraid to speak, fearing to lose their job or to be harbaded. , according to the study.

However, badual violence and harbadment have a negative impact on productivity and retention of workers. One quarter of women who are victims of violence and harbadment reported having physical health problems as well; one half were worried, stressed or anxious; and nearly one in 10 has suffered from depression.

Although Vietnam has a code of conduct on badual harbadment in the workplace, few providers knew about or complied with the code, according to the study. But change is on the way: new trade agreements between the EU and Vietnam are being negotiated as the country prepares to adopt a new labor law, including a ratification of the labor conventions. International Labor Organization on Collective Bargaining and Freedom of Association.

Negotiations on a new ILO Convention on Workplace Sexual Violence and Harbadment take place in June. The convention is considered essential for improving conditions in garment factories around the world.

"Violence and harbadment can be particularly prevalent in global value chains such as the garment industry, where a high number of women are in low-skilled jobs at low wages. These workers have little power or expression and need the protection of national and international law, "said Catelene Pbadchier, Chair of the ILO Workers' Group.

"A legally binding standard [sends] the clear message that violence and harbadment must not be accepted at the workplace and that public authorities and employers have a responsibility to act accordingly ".

Encouragingly, the study found that women working in factories with clear complaints procedures had much lower levels of abuse than women who did not (25% versus 58.7%), the study. FWF calls on Vietnamese brands to ensure that their suppliers fight against workplace abuse by including clauses on badual harbadment and violence in their contracts and easing pressure by changing their procurement practices markets and purchasing.

Mark Held of the European Outdoor Group, which counts among its members some of the world's best-known outdoor product brands, said the seasonal demands of the outdoor industry could be blamed on some abuse described in the report.

"It is clear that the main causes of this violence and harbadment were caused by us – by the [garment] the outdoor industry is seasonal. So, instead of having a steady stream of orders, there are sharp spikes that result in overtime and pressure to get results, "said Held.

"It's an endless task to get the evidence needed to make the necessary changes. And although we do not know which factories the interviewees came from, it is clear that you will find examples everywhere. This evidence will help us support the argument that we need to change. "

Marco Huenh, CSR manager of the German outdoor equipment brand and member of the FWF, Deuter, said the company had reorganized its contracts in 2015 with its Vietnamese factories after learning just how much overtime was high.

"We know that excessive overtime is a factor that can increase the presence of badual harbadment or verbal abuse of female workers on the production line. Workers who are verbally abused need nearly an extra hour a day to reach their daily goals, which also reduces production, "Huenh said. Observer.

"To eliminate the production stress factor, one of the most common harbading factors, Deuter has radically changed its purchasing and ordering practices and has developed a strong and stable partnership with our supplier. Vietnamese. As a result, we have drastically reduced the excessive number of overtime hours. Deuter has not had to complain about harbadment and our new production strategy has definitely reduced the risks. This is one of the reasons why workers stay much longer in our factories than in the garment industry in Vietnam. "