A new report by the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) on workplace violence against women transport workers, reveals that women working in the sector are subject to high levels of abuse, threats, intimidation and offensive behaviour. The study is the first of its kind and is based on survey responses from more than 1,400 women transport workers from across Europe who were asked about their experiences of physical, sexual and psychological workplace violence, as well as about reporting of incidents and existing company policies.
Some of the survey outcomes show that:
- 63% of the respondents have experienced at least one recent act of violence
- 25% of the survey participants believe that violence against women is a regular occurrence in the transport sector
- 26% believe that harassment is considered to be ‘part of the job’ in transport
Dr Jane Pillinger, author of the report, presented the main findings of the survey today to the ETF Women’s Committee and to European Commission representatives attending the Committee meeting in Brussels. “It is of particular concern that the survey shows that violence is rarely a one-off experience; rather it is likely to take place repeatedly over the working life of a woman transport worker”, Dr Pillinger emphasized.
“Workplace violence is a growing problem in transport, impacting on women’s occupational safety, health and wellbeing at work. The survey results cannot be ignored.” said Brigitta Paas, ETF Women’s Committee chairperson. “We express our hope that the findings will be taken into account by the European Commission in the frame of their ‘Women in Transport’ initiative aimed at attracting more women to the transport sector. Without providing decent work, equal pay and a violence-free work environment the sector will fail to attract and retain more women workers in transport.”
Within the frame of the ETF Campaign Fair Transport for Europe, the ETF Women’s Committee will intensify its actions and say ‘NO’ to violence against women transport workers in Europe.
For more information, please contact Cristina Tilling: c.tilling@etf-europe.org or via Mobile at +32(0)478 55 81 35
