A/HRC/44/36 and bring systemic changes to patriarchal power structures, social norms and gender stereotypes; (b) have more women in senior positions and provide managerial staff with gender-sensitive training; (c) understand the gendered impact of violence against women and the intersectional nature of the discrimination they face; (d) use sex-disaggregated data, engage gender-sensitive experts and consult women’s organizations and women human rights defenders when conducting human rights due diligence; (e) support women workers in forming trade unions and taking up leadership positions in the unions; (f) recognize violence in the world of work as a severe and often irremediable human rights risk and adopt zero tolerance for such an impact throughout their operations; and (g) ensure women’s access to gender-transformative remedies. 16. Ms. Vega introduced ILO Convention No. 190 and Recommendation No. 206, which were adopted by the International Labour Conference on 21 June 2019. She noted that they aimed to prevent, identify and redress violence and harassment in the world of work, including gender-based violence and the effects of domestic violence, which was not only damaging to individuals but also to the working environment, productivity and business reputation. She went on to emphasize that the two instruments represented a recognition that violence and harassment in the world of work could constitute a human rights violation or abuse, and that the scope of their application covered all workers in all sectors, both public and private, and including the formal and informal economy. The instruments deepened the work of the ILO on social justice and laid the grounds for the construction of a human-centred model of society. 17. Ms. Šimonović highlighted the complementarity of the newly adopted ILO Convention No. 190 and the existing international framework on the elimination of violence against women in the world of work. She stressed that it would be important that the new Convention be implemented together with other existing instruments and mechanisms, such as the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocol, the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, general recommendation No. 35 (2017) of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on gender-based violence against women and regional international treaties, such as the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women (Convention of Belem do Para), the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol). Acknowledging that violence against women persisted, despite the evolution of international frameworks, Ms. Šimonović stressed that it was time to shift from proclamation to the realization of zero tolerance of violence and harassment in the world of work. 18. Ms. Valdez Palisoc illustrated the challenges faced by domestic workers, based on her own experience, and underscored the important role of trade unions in giving voice to workers. As a domestic worker, she had faced exploitation, denial of access to social security, violence and harassment, including sexual violence. Despite these abuses, she had kept silent, as she did not know what rights she had as a domestic worker or how to express grievances until she joined a trade union. She underlined the important role of trade unions in raising awareness and building the capacity of workers to find their voice, protect their rights and enable workers to participate in decision-making, including at the international level, such as the development and adoption of ILO conventions. As examples of the work of trade unions in that regard, she mentioned that as a member of the International Domestic Workers Federation, she was supporting the full implementation of the Kasambahay Law protecting the rights of domestic workers in the Philippines 1 and the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189). 1 4 Republic Act No. 10361 of the Philippines, available from www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2013/01/18/republic-act-no-10361/.

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