Western clothing brands must address garment factory violence, says new report
Gender-based violence is on the increase in Global South garment factories, the UK could ban its health service from buying goods or services linked to human trafficking, and millions of Filipino children were subject to online abuse in the past year.
Every worker interviewed for new research into gender-based violence and harassment in Global South garment factories reported either experiencing or witnessing GBVH perpetrated by male supervisors and managers, according to a joint report from Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, Society for Labour & Development (SLD) and Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA).
Unbearable Harassment: The fashion industry and widespread abuse of female garment workers in Indian factories, which draws on testimonies from 90 women in 31 factories across three major garment-producing hubs in India, reveals accounts of routine physical and verbal abuse, sexual coercion, bullying, wage cuts and wage theft, discrimination, forced overtime, exhaustion-related accidents, and a lack of COVID-19 safety precautions. The 31 factories employ tens of thousands of workers, the majority of whom are women, and supply, or have recently supplied, at least 12 global fashion brands and retailers: American Eagle, ASDA, C&A, Carrefour, H&M, JD Sports, Kohl’s, Levi Strauss & Co., Marks & Spencer, Primark, Tesco and VF Corporation. All 12 were linked to allegations of GBVH in their garment supply chains prior to the release of the report, which emphasizes that the findings are universal across the industry.
The named brands have all set out policy commitments to ensure workers in their supply chains are not subject to mistreatment and abuse. Some go even further by explicitly referring to the prohibition of GBVH in their codes of conduct and human rights policies. However, the findings demonstrate a significant gap between policy and practice, as well as the failure of voluntary human rights due diligence models. While some brands are quick to capitalize on female empowerment when marketing their products, they squeeze their garment suppliers on price and speed to maximize profit margins, with women workers in the Global South paying the price.
Furthermore, the fashion business model, which prioritizes short-term profit, combined with inadequate government regulation and damaging patriarchal practices, creates and sustains the conditions for systemic and widespread GBVH in fashion supply chains across the industry as a whole. An unequal power dynamic allows brands to dictate the terms of production, aggressively squeezing suppliers on price during negotiations, routinely demanding discounts and unrealistically short lead times, making last minute changes to orders, and imposing unfair penalties. These practices drive labour abuses as suppliers increase production targets and working hours to meet buyers’ timelines, and cut costs by driving down wages.
During the pandemic, some brands cancelled orders, delayed payments and squeezed suppliers to further protect their profits, creating a “perfect storm” for increased violence against women garment workers. Meanwhile, supplier factories used the pandemic as an excuse to target union leaders and members, leaving women workers without protection from escalating GBVH.
The report’s authors say that brands must be held legally accountable for the treatment of the workers who make their clothes. This is possible through enforceable supply chain agreements between brands, suppliers and trade unions, which commit to addressing GBVH in supply networks. To ensure brands are held accountable under national law in production countries, joint liability should be incorporated into manufacturing contracts with suppliers. In brand headquarter countries, governments must enact legislation requiring companies to undertake comprehensive and mandatory human rights due diligence throughout their operations and supply chains – this now appears to be underway, to some extent, in the European Union. In addition, brands should conduct effective human rights due diligence for GBVH in collaboration with women workers; transform purchasing practices that create or exacerbate risk factors for GBVH; and invest in violence prevention and grievance mechanisms at the factory level.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
The NHS in England will be barred from using goods and services linked to slavery or human trafficking under a new law, which is expected to be put to a parliamentary vote this week. The law would prevent the health service buying equipment worth billions from parts of China where it is claimed forced labour is used in supply chains.
A new research report estimates that at least 2 million children in the Philippines were subjected to online sexual abuse and exploitation in the past year alone. Ninety-six per cent of 12 to 17 year olds in the Philippines are online, and many have reported experiences including grooming, being offered gifts or money in exchange for sexual acts, and being threatened or blackmailed to engage in sexual acts.
At the request of the government of Uzbekistan, USAID’s Safe Migration in Central Asia Project is providing technical assistance in the development of standard operating procedures (SoPs) for state-run shelters for the victims of TIP. If you have SoPs from your country or practice, or any information that could be helpful, please reach out to nodira.saidkarimova@winrock.org.
Pathfinders Justice Initiative is proud to launch The Justice Project (TJP), part of its Innovative Projects from Civil Societies and Coalitions of Actors (PISCCA) program, with support from the French Embassy to Nigeria. TJP will improve on the ways in which survivors of sex trafficking in Nigeria access the tools they need to embark on self-sufficiency and sustainable economic empowerment.
Hundreds of Ukrainians are believed to be living and working informally in Britain after escaping from farms, with many claiming to have been subjected to conditions of modern slavery. The Scottish Refugee Council estimates that there are up to 6,000 Ukrainians in the UK; seasonal workers whose visas expired before 2022 are not eligible for the two main government refugee support schemes – the family scheme and community sponsorship scheme.
More than 20,000 people in Southeast Myanmar who fled homes in territory held by Karen National Union (KNU) rebels are in urgent need of food and other aid, according to Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG), as fighting that has raged in the area for months becomes even more intense. The situation for displaced people is at its most dire since last year’s coup plunged the region into conflict.
A new documentary tells the story of a decorated Thai police officer who fled the country after exposing a brutal human trafficking network. The resulting investigation implicated a leading army general – but some of the country’s most powerful political figures sabotaged the case, says the police officer, leaving him fearing for his life.
To celebrate the close of its second Accelerator, a program that advances promising anti-trafficking technology solutions, Tech Against Trafficking is hosting a two-hour virtual event to showcase its outputs and discuss how the learnings and tools can be used by the broader anti-trafficking field. The event, on 10 May at 8am PDT/5pm CEST, will include presentations by The Lantern Project and Unseen UK, and a panel discussion on the gaps that remain in the implementation of tech solutions to fight human trafficking. You can register here.
Do No Harm: Understanding Intersectional Experiences in Human Trafficking is the second part of a webinar program organized by the Collaborative Network to End Exploitation, focusing on anti-oppressive trauma-informed anti-human trafficking practices. The weekly series, starting 5 May, will focus on the ways in which different aspects of peoples’ identities inform their choices along the spectrum of exploitation.
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