Safety planning for violence against women during the COVID-19 pandemic

Date: Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Under the current COVID-19 pandemic, “isolation measures” could put women at further risk of violence. Safety planning is a way to think about how to stay safe in your home, community and in workplace no matter your migration status.

Guidance Note for Action: Addressing the Emerging Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Migrant Women in Asia and the Pacific for a Gender-Responsive Recovery

Date: Friday, April 10, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affects women migrant workers across Asia and the Pacific, in particular those with irregular migration status. Concluding the four-part guidance note series, this paper focuses on the emerging impacts of the pandemic on women migrant workers and recommendations to support governments, donors, civil society organizations, employers and the private sector in addressing those impacts. Essentially, more assertive and collective efforts are needed to ensure migrant-inclusive and gender-responsive measures in preventing further spread of the virus.

Policy Brief: Women and Girls and Internal Displacement in Afghanistan

Date: Monday, March 2, 2020

Afghanistan remains one of the world’s most complex emer-gencies. Sustained conflict has resulted in high numbers of civilian deaths and injuries, and protracted displacement. Between January and December 2019, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA) recorded 3,403 civilian deaths, a five per cent decrease as compared to 2018. UNAMA also documented 1,202 women casual-ties (345 killed and 857 injured), a four per cent increase from 2018.

Public attitudes towards migrant workers in Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand

Date: Thursday, January 30, 2020

Now, nearly a decade later, the TRIANGLE in ASEAN programme (ILO) and Safe and Fair programme (ILO and UN Women) have conducted a similar survey of 4,099 nationals to track trends of attitudes in three of the above countries. One of the original four countries was changed, with the Republic of Korea replaced by Japan, given its emergence as an important destination country for low-skilled migrant workers in Asia. Certain questions from the first survey were repeated to allow for identification...

Coordinated Quality Services for Ending Violence against Women Migrant Workers

Date: Wednesday, January 8, 2020

This policy brief is based on regional and national priorities and recommendations identified during the three-day “Regional Dialogue on Coordinated Quality Services for Ending Violence against Women Migrant Workers in ASEAN”, which took place in Bangkok, Thailand, from 10 to 12 July 2019. The meeting was hosted by the Safe and Fair Programme implemented by the ILO and UN Women, in collaboration with UNODC, under the Spotlight Initiative to Eliminate Violence Against Women and Girls, a global multi-year initiative between the European Union and the United Nations. The Safe and Fair programme delivers technical assistance and support to national and regional stakeholders with the overall objective of making labour migration safe and fair for all women in the ASEAN region.

Safe and Fair: Realizing women migrant workers' rights and opportunities through the SDGs

Date: Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Women make up almost half of migrants in the ASEAN region. They are largely concentrated in informal, low paid labour including in agriculture, manufacturing, domestic work, construction and entertainment. Irregular migrants and migrant domestic workers are at particular risk of violence, forced labour and trafficking due to their status and isolation. The Sustainable Development Goals 5 (Gender Equality), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 10 (Reduced Inequality) and 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutes) aim to address problems facing women migrant workers. This brief analyzed how ensuring safe and migration for women migrant workers can contribute to achieving the SDG goals and how the Safe and Fair Programme will respond to the issue.

POLICY BRIEF: The rights of women migrant domestic workers | Gender-responsive employment contracts

Date: Friday, June 21, 2019

This document aims to inform Sri Lanka’s national policy on the protection of rights of women migrant domestic workers. Guided by normative commitments and international standards on gender equality and migrant labour rights, the document captures the concerns of a diverse set of stakeholders, including government officials, civil society representatives, and the most marginalized women migrant domestic workers.

Returning Home: challenges and opportunities for women migrant workers in the Nepali labour market

Date: Thursday, March 28, 2019

The present study shows that while women largely migrate for economic reasons, they remain unable to improve their economic status upon return to Nepal due to traditional restrictions to their mobility and their disproportional share of household responsibilities. Furthermore, the participation of returnee migrant women workers in Nepal’s labour market is constrained by multiple work burdens created by the gendered division of household labour and care responsibilities. The findings...

Empowering Women Migrant Workers from South Asia: Toolkit for Gender-Responsive Employment and Recruitment

Date: Tuesday, March 19, 2019

The Toolkit provides comprehensive guidance on ensuring the protection and promotion of the rights of women migrant workers throughout the labour migration cycle. The Toolkit includes a policy brief series that describes the process of establishing national, bilateral and regional policy protections. The Gender-responsive Guidance on Employment Contracts supports relevant stakeholders to ensure these policies and protections are reflected in employment contracts. The Gender-responsive Self-assessment Tool for Recruitment Agencies provides recruiters with information on how to protect and promote the rights of women migrant workers in practice, throughout the migration cycle....

Gender-responsive Guidance on Employment Contracts

Date: Monday, March 18, 2019

Domestic workers are often partially or fully excluded from national labour laws and related protections. The lack of comprehensive legal protection for domestic workers means employment contracts play a critical role in establishing protections of their rights. Without definitive legal principles to govern the employment relationship with their employers, domestic workers report working long hours without overtime payment, sufficient weekly rest or holidays. They may experience non-payment ...