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Urban space and security are deeply gendered. Women live in and move through the city, but not without risk to their bodily safety as sexual harassment and violence are widespread. Presentations will address dynamics of sexual violence and harassment and women's agency to negotiate these.
Long Abstract:
Urban space is gendered. Women move through the city to work, perform tasks and for leisure - but not without risk to their bodily safety and integrity. Forms of sexual harassment and violence are pervasive and widespread and impact women's health, freedom, productivity, and life opportunities. Young and migrant women, informal workers and those belonging to minority groups, tend to extra vulnerable to sexual violence and harassment. Sustained migration to cities, expanding settlements and growing informal economies are likely to aggravate the gendered insecurities of urban spaces. Faced with weak police and justice institutions, women often need to rely on informal mechanisms to avoid, cope and act on (sexual) violence and harassment. Papers in this panel will address both the material and socio-political driving factors that create vulnerability to sexual harassment and violence - as well as women's agency in negotiating and redressing these.
We invite presentations based on empirical research.
Panellists will upload pre-recorded presentations and watch other presentations in advance of the conference. Convenors will send guiding questions to prepare in advance of the conference to enhance coherence of the discussion, focusing on commonalities and differences across contexts.
The convenors will moderate the discussion. Each presenter will give a 3 minute pitch summarising their key findings and argument (max. of 2 slides allowed) and another 2min in which they address one of the key questions from the convenors. After this, the discussion will be open to the audience.
This paper compares strategies against workplace sexual harassment (WSH) adopted by female Bangladeshi workers in informal and formal workplaces. It examines how women's understanding of WSH and agency interact with gender norms and workplace factors to enable or constrain their voice and action.
Paper long abstract:
Bangladesh is undergoing rapid urbanisation (annual 3%) and women are increasingly entering the labour force, in both formal and informal work. While this provides scope for new livelihoods for women and opportunities for challenging existing discriminatory gender norms, it also brings to the fore how sexual violence and harassment act as barriers and disincentives to women's mobility and participation in the workforce. Women's opportunities for paid work in urban areas are still limited with low paid and informal work being the most accessible for poor women. The research presented by the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development explains the experiences of sexual harassment among young women engaged in domestic work and in agro-processing factories, and their agency and voice in negotiating and challenging workplace sexual harassment and violence. The analysis of restrictive social and gender norms shows how the articulation and discussion of experiences of workplace sexual harassment are difficult and has resulted in intricate strategies of avoidance and protection, which depend on family support, informal social networks, and workplace structures, all of which are also affected by the urban context. The paper will discuss the similarities and differences between workers in isolated settings (informal domestic workers) and workers in a factory context that is partially formalised, where formal mechanisms are however inaccessible and not trusted. It will examine how women's knowledge/understanding of workplace sexual harassment and agency interact with gender norms and workplace factors to enable or constrain them from voicing/speaking out and taking action.
Using the framework of urban space as a gendered territory, we examined the language used by young, low-income Bangladeshi female workers in their depiction of workplace sexual harassment. Our findings suggested that the language was limited and normative which can have serious policy implications.
Paper long abstract:
From the mid twentieth century, "space" has come to the forefront of critical discussion by the works of Michel Foucault (1986), Henri Lefebvre (2004), and Edward Soja (1996). This interest in space coincides with the increasing urbanisation worldwide. Urbanisation, often associated with modernisation, is thought to provide more freedom to women since they can go out and work which rural structures do not always allow (Banks, 2013). However, these same urban places expose women to various forms of discriminations and harassments, and thus "space" has been identified as a gendered territory by researchers (Hayden 1980; Spain 1992). Various studies conducted on the urban spaces of Bangladesh (e.g., ActionAid, 2016; 2019; Brac, 2018) have shown how women of different groups face risks of sexual harassment inside the workplace as well as on the street, often considered the "male public space" (Siddiqui, 2003), and they have little means to articulate the violence to which they are subjected to. The present study examined the language used by young female workers in Bangladesh to talk about the sexual violence they experienced. Twenty domestic workers and twenty factory workers from urban and peri-urban areas of Dhaka were interviewed. The findings suggested that their expressions to describe the sexual harassment were limited and guided by societal norms. We argued that the lack of expressions prevents them from seeking aid and justice, which has serious implications for ensuring a safe workspace for women in urban Dhaka.
Based on a qualitative study, this paper examines the role of cultural and gender norms in voicing and formal reporting relating to sexual harassment drawing on experiences of young female (18-24 years) domestic workers within Kampala.
Paper long abstract:
For the past decade, Uganda has topped Africa's unemployment levels. With a population of over 75% people below 30 years of age, young people's unemployment is a big challenge and approximately 90% of young people find work in the informal economy. As the result of urbanization and increase of working class households, the demand for domestic work increased and many young women, especially migrants, find work as domestic workers. Based on a qualitative study, this paper examines the role of cultural and gender norms in voicing and formal reporting relating to sexual harassment drawing on experiences of young female (18-24 years) domestic workers within Kampala. Their informal employment is precarious: they lack contracts, security and have no avenues for challenging abuse. The paper further elaborates the risk factors leading that create exposure to sexual harassment among live-in domestic workers, like age, education and class. Gender and cultural norms interface with these and other critical identity like job experience and motherhood to further marginalize young domestic workers. Findings indicate that the culture of silence and notions of victim blaming, stigmatization and language restrictions all work to hinder women's voice towards self-care and social justice.
This paper expresses how important language is among young women workers in factories in reporting sexual harassment. Usually before these young women report or talk about sexual harassment with other parties, they edit and rephrase words and phrases to avoid obscenity.
Paper long abstract:
This paper analyses the role of language as a major hindrance for urban young women to report on sexual harassment in the world of work. In Uganda, one in three women are victims or survivors of sexual violence, including at the workplace. Forms of sexual harassment range from verbal offenses to physical harassment and rape. Many young women lack both the knowledge and appropriate language to be in a position to voice, report and mitigate sexual harassment. This qualitative study that involved linguistic research focused on the everyday language that young women use and acquire for discussing and reporting workplace sexual harassment. Case study research focused on women working in agri-processing firms, which are considered growth industries and attract a female labour force and contribute to women's empowerment. The presentation explores the concern of communicating sexual harassment among young urban women, from slang to formal language. I will use individual cases to show how young women in Uganda lack knowledge and language of communicating sexual harassment and I will conclude by identifying pathways to solutions.
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Sohela Nazneen (Institute of Development Studiesies, University of Sussex)
Short Abstract:
Urban space and security are deeply gendered. Women live in and move through the city, but not without risk to their bodily safety as sexual harassment and violence are widespread. Presentations will address dynamics of sexual violence and harassment and women's agency to negotiate these.
Long Abstract:
Urban space is gendered. Women move through the city to work, perform tasks and for leisure - but not without risk to their bodily safety and integrity. Forms of sexual harassment and violence are pervasive and widespread and impact women's health, freedom, productivity, and life opportunities. Young and migrant women, informal workers and those belonging to minority groups, tend to extra vulnerable to sexual violence and harassment. Sustained migration to cities, expanding settlements and growing informal economies are likely to aggravate the gendered insecurities of urban spaces. Faced with weak police and justice institutions, women often need to rely on informal mechanisms to avoid, cope and act on (sexual) violence and harassment. Papers in this panel will address both the material and socio-political driving factors that create vulnerability to sexual harassment and violence - as well as women's agency in negotiating and redressing these.
We invite presentations based on empirical research.
Panellists will upload pre-recorded presentations and watch other presentations in advance of the conference. Convenors will send guiding questions to prepare in advance of the conference to enhance coherence of the discussion, focusing on commonalities and differences across contexts.
The convenors will moderate the discussion. Each presenter will give a 3 minute pitch summarising their key findings and argument (max. of 2 slides allowed) and another 2min in which they address one of the key questions from the convenors. After this, the discussion will be open to the audience.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Thursday 7 July, 2022, -Maheen Sultan (Brac Institute of Governance and Development) Lopita Huq (Brac Institute Of Governance And Development (Bigd))
Asifa Sultana (Brac University) Firdous Azim (BRAC University) Anika Saba (Brac University)
Victoria Namuggala (Makerere University)
Prosperous Nankindu (Kyambogo University)