We are coming to the end of the 16days of Activism against Domestic violence (November 25th 2024 to December 10th 2024) and we wish to answer the question ‘what does governance have to do with it??’

At the national level, Kenya is yet to ratify the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention C190- The Violence and Harassment Convention, the first international treaty to address violence and harassment in the world of work. The Convention was adopted in June 2019, and came into force on 25 June 2021. Kenya, a member of ILO since 1965 has ratified all fundamental and priority treaty(ies) of the ILO, but a lot of technical treaties such as the C190 are yet to be ratified.

Art. 1 of C.190 defines violence as ‘A range of unacceptable behaviours and practices, or threats thereof, whether a single occurrence or repeated, that aim at, result in, or are likely to result in physical, psychological, sexual or economic harm, and includes gender-based violence and harassment.’

Instead of raising our voices, we hereby improve our argument by stating why this particular convention should be prioritised:
* The statistics of femicide which states that in every 10 minutes, a woman is killed and surprisingly by an intimate partner or a family member. This cannot continue. We need our leaders to move beyond silence or shock and have in place laws and systems that prohibit and curb this kind of violence. Women are people;
* That gender violence, which disproportionately affects women and girls, is now creeping into the work space affecting the productivity in both public and private enterprise, which impacts the nation as a whole;
* That ratifying this treaty already supports and gives effect to articles 27(3), 28 and 29(c) of our Kenyan Constitution. Convention C190 then gives concrete steps on what a nation should put in place.

So what are some of the salient principles of C190?
1. Violence and harassment threatens equal opportunities; is unacceptable and incompatible with decent work.
2. It affects various spaces and events at the workplace e.g Sanitary, washing and changing facilities, occurs in work-related trips, training, events or social activities, and is present in work-related communications etc.
3. It advocates for prevention and protection measures, effective enforcement and remedies, Training and guidance and collaboration between governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations

As part of corporate governance, to be a champion of C190 means that your organisation should brush up its sexual harassment, communications, OSHA and HR policies to prohibit violence. As well train and raise awareness on what can be considered violence; promote and enforce the right behaviors, safe reporting, protection of vulnerable staff and support for victims (if any).

Allow us to have a look at your policies in order to have your organisation become a C190 ally, it is good for business!