Social equity & labour
Workplace Harassment
Definition
Workplace harassment — framed in international law as violence and harassment in the world of work — is a range of unacceptable behaviours and practices, or threats thereof, whether a single occurrence or repeated, that aim at, result in, or are likely to result in physical, psychological, sexual, or economic harm, and includes gender-based violence and harassment. ILO Convention No. 190 (2019) provides the first international definition and recognises everyone's right to a world of work free from violence and harassment.
References
treaty definition and scope
obligations and significance
Overview
What it means
The definition deliberately spans a range rather than a bright line: conduct can stand alone, interlink, accumulate, or escalate, and protection covers all workers regardless of contractual status, in formal and informal economies, including work-related travel, communications, and commuting. Gender-based harassment is explicitly included.
Prevention is an employer obligation: workplace policies, risk assessment, and training.
How it is used
The convention guides national legislation, corporate codes of conduct, supply-chain social standards, and grievance mechanisms; ratifying states must prohibit and prevent such conduct in law.
Why it matters
Safe, dignified work is a core social-sustainability requirement; C190 gives the world its first common legal language for it. **Note:** 1328 Harassment and Abuse Prevention merges into this entry; prevention obligations are covered here.