Violence and harassment in the world of work is a pervasive and harmful phenomenon, with profound and costly effects ranging from severe physical and mental health consequences to lost earnings and destroyed career paths to economic losses for workplaces and societies. In 2021, across the world, 22.8 per cent or 743 million persons in employment had experienced violence and harassment at work – whether physical, psychological or sexual – over their working life.

To address this, in June 2019 the International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted the Violence and Harassment Convention (No. 190) and its accompanying Recommendation (No. 206).These instruments recognize the right of everyone to a world of work free from violence and harassment, and for the first time, provided a common framework for the prevention and elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work, including gender-based violence and harassment.

The ILO also aims at assisting labour inspectors in their task of enhancing the working conditions of workers worldwide, by addressing violence and harassment taking place in the workplace. With this objective, the ILO has developed a Support Guide for Labour Inspectors accompanied with a specialised training program which seeks to provide labour inspectors with the necessary knowledge, skills and tools to effectively address this pressing topic.

This Participants Workbook serves as a comprehensive guide for participants undergoing our training program. It is designed for use throughout the course to facilitate all planned activities, enabling note-taking and content review as we conclude the training.