Ending sexual harassment at work: Creating a baseline on laws in 193 countries

In June 2019, the International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted Convention 190, a landmark global treaty addressing workplace sexual harassment. This study provides a baseline assessment of all 193 United Nations (UN) member states’ workplace sexual harassment laws. A systematic comparison of national legislation reveals that nearly two-thirds of UN member states have legislated prohibitions of sexual harassment in the workplace. However, one-third still fail to prohibit workplace sexual harassment, and important gaps exist in the countries with legislative protections. Tracking countries’ enactment of workplace sexual harassment laws over time will provide an important tool for monitoring the Convention’s impact.