Fair Wear Foundation, Mondiaal FNV and CNV Internationaal are on a joint mission to Indonesia. All three organisations are active in this country where the manufacturing sector generates around a fifth of the country’s GDP.
The three organisations that together form the Strategic Partnership for Garment Supply Chain Transformation with the Dutch ministry of Foreign Affairs, are spending a week in Indonesia.
Women’s Post
The first stop was Jakarta. FWF Executive Director Alexander Kohnstamm, Mondiaal FNV Director Karen Brouwer and her colleague Marijn Peperkamp visited the KBN industrial zone, the first gender-based violence free zone in Indonesia that was established after a long struggle by local unions.
The Women’s Post is part of the GBV free zone. No less than 50 volunteers monitor the post on a daily basis. Female workers can complain here about sexual harassment in their working environments as over 50% of female garment workers in Indonesia have experienced sexual harassment, yet less than 5% of the cases have been reported.
ILO convention
As their mission continued in Jakarta, the Dutch delegation attended a joint seminar on combating sexual violence and gender discrimination in the world of work. FNV called upon the 100+ enthusiastic women at the seminar to put pressure on employers to get their support for a new ILO convention by saying, ‘Your actions are important. We will support you!’
In reflection, the trio shared their surprise about how open sensitive issues were discussed, such as the position of the LGBT community. Alexander Kohnstamm applauded the bravery of members of these communities in saying, ‘It takes great courage to stand on that platform and speak out!’
Vulnerable groups
Roel Rotshuizen, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of CNV Internationaal, was also present at the seminar. He emphasised that ‘it is important to involve men too in the fight against sexual harassment on the work floor’.
Sexual harassment most commonly affects vulnerable groups, such as domestic workers, female workers and folks of the LGBT community. In May 2019, the ILO will discuss a new convention to combat discrimination and sexual violence in the work place as over 55% of women in the Indonesian garment sector have experienced sexual harassment of some sort.
–> FWF & violence prevention
Gender equality and practical violence prevention is central to Fair Wear Foundation’s work. FWF has a strong commitment to work with all relevant stakeholders to end violence against women and men in the garment sector. We have implemented innovative violence-prevention programmes in garment-producing countries around the world. Read more on FWF’s Gender Portal.
