More than three-fourths of workers in Turkey have experienced at least one of five forms of workplace violence during their entire work life, including violence based on religion or ethnicity, according to the results of a recent study by a leading Turkish university and the International Labor Organization (ILO).
Titled “Perceptions and Experiences of Workplace Violence and Harassment Research,” the study—the first of its kind in Turkey—was released by Ozyegin University and ILO on October 16, 2024 in the Turkish capital Istanbul.
Based on face-to-face interviews with 3,007 respondents across 186 neighborhoods of Istanbul from May through July 2024 , the study examined the prevalence of five distinct types of workplace violence—economic violence, discrimination, psychological violence, physical violence, and sexual violence.
The survey found that discrimination in the workplace consisted, in turn, of five further types of violence. These were based on workers’ ethnicity or nationality; religious and ideological beliefs; age; dress or appearance; and gender. The most frequently experienced form of discrimination during the year immediately prior to the study was based on religion and ideology, followed by age, according to the study.
A total of 20.4 percent of respondents, split almost equally along the lines of gender, reported experiencing different forms of discrimination, the study revealed. However, while 7.5 percent of men reported experiencing religious or ideological discrimination, 6.7 percent of women said they had the same experience.
Workers who experience one form of violence are likely to encounter others, according to the study. “The fact that more than half of the respondents experienced two or more forms of violence highlights how widespread and serious violence is,” the 96-page study warns.
The study examined employees’ awareness of the five types of violence. Besides taking into account the factors influencing their awareness of workplace violence, the research gauged how knowledgeable employees are about the phenomenon, how they coped with the problem, and what sources of support were available to them.
The study also collected information on the characteristics of both the perpetrators of violence and its targets. The report provides recommendations for employers, policymakers and labor organizations responsible for preventing violence.
Employers must adopt a zero tolerance policy to combat workplace violence, the study proposes. Preventive systems and intervention programs for violence should be developed and implemented in accordance with such a policy, the report recommends.
Further, according to the study, employers should establish a trustworthy system and supportive work environment that enables employees to report incidents of workplace violence they have experienced or observed without fearing retaliation.
The report urges policymakers to create legal frameworks to safeguard and empower workers against workplace violence by adopting international agreements, such as ILO Convention No. 190.
Also known as the Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019, the convention is an international treaty adopted by the ILO to address violence and harassment in the field of work. It is considered to be the first global standard specifically aimed at tackling workplace violence and harassment, including gender-based violence.
Additionally, the study proposes that policymakers identify and resolve obstacles that hinder women and men from accessing legal remedies in cases of violence. The study also recommends that policymakers require companies to establish standards for assessing and reporting the effectiveness of systems and mechanisms aimed at preventing workplace violence.
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