Aware of the fact that many women and girls suffer from sexual harassment in the work-place or learning environment (school/university), and recognizing the fact that this violates the dignity and the human rights of women and girls, threatening their job security and/or becoming an obstacle to effective work or performance,
Taking further into consideration that sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances and include conditions of employment dependent on sexual favours, physical acts of sexual assault, requests for sexual favours, verbal harassment of a sexual nature, unwanted touching or physical contact, unwelcome sexual advances,
Aware moreover that this issue is today a matter of general concern on the global agenda,
Reaffirming accordingly the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights,
THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF WOMEN CALLS UPON ALL ICW MEMBER COUNCILS TO SEEK APPROPRIATE ACTION IN THEIR COUNTRIES TO:
• Cooperate with national institutions to prevent and combat all forms of harassment and violence against women and girls, as a core element of gender equality and women's empowerment;
• Ensure that women are safe at work by supporting measures that promote the creation of a workplace environment free from sexual harassment and encourage employers to put in place policies designed to eliminate and deal effectively with harassment of women whenever it occurs;
• Promote local legislation that penalizes acts of sexual harassment;
• Establish and support programs that provide legal aid and assistance for women bringing complaints relating to harassment;
• Work to create harassment-free societies by implementing participatory education programs from a very early age, on human rights, gender equality and mutual respect;
• Introduce and invest in comprehensive public awareness campaigns, such as "zero tolerance", that portray sexual harassment as unacceptable, in order to enable women and girls to fully live their lives without intimidation or culpability;
• Create mechanisms to encourage behavioural change in perpetrators of sexual harassment.
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Source: International Council of Women (ICW-CIF) — 35th General Assembly, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, September 13-18, 2018. Resolution No. 7.
