As part of its celebration of Women’s Month, BWI’s affiliates in the Africa and Middle East region held a webinar on 9 March 2026, which carried the theme"Breaking the Silence – Bridging Global Policy and Workplace Reality to Eliminate GBVH.” The online activity, which more than 62 trade union leaders attended, is part of the collective effort to dismantle workplace violence. It underscored a fundamental paradigm shift: GBVH is not a private matter, but a global labour crisis and a core occupational health and safety concern that requires institutional accountability rather than just individual resilience.

Keynote speaker and BWI alumna Inviolata Chinyangarara, now a Senior Technical Specialist on Workers’ Activities at the ILO, delivered a stirring call to action, warning comrades that remaining silent only serves to perpetuate cycles of abuse. She emphasized that prevention is far superior to any cure and urged unions to use a broad range of international labour standards, including Conventions 155, 111, 189, 87, and 98, to strengthen the implementation of ILO C190. Inviolata stressed that for policy to become reality, legal language must be simplified for the shop floor, remedies must be made truly accessible, and shop stewards must be rigorously trained to hold employers accountable through strict compliance with the law.

Nthabiseng Mashiteng, National Secretary of the NUM Women's Structure, shared practical initiatives currently being implemented on the ground. She detailed the union’s GBVF Program, launched in partnership with the ACV Foundation, which provides members with direct access to a multidisciplinary team of medical doctors, social workers, and educators. Operating through the Elijah Barayi Memorial Training Centre, the program provides essential mental health and emotional assistance. These actions were catalysed by the tragic shooting of three members, leading the union to successfully negotiate the inclusion of mandatory GBV education and awareness during all worker inductions. Despite ongoing challenges regarding sustainable funding, the union is still making remarkable strides in the fight against GBVF in workplaces and communities.

For her part, Comfort Agambaa, General Secretary of the GCMQWU, shared her personal story of experiencing abuse within her own union office. While she has secured legal assistance through TUC Ghana, she said that the wheels of justice grind slowly, highlighting the systemic barriers victims face even when they do speak out. Her testimony sparked a wave of solidarity among attendees, who pledged to explore how BWI can offer more direct, localised support to victims. The webinar concluded with a shared commitment to unlearning toxic workplace traits and collaboratively building a culture where workers can coexist safely, ensuring that the labour movement remains a safe sanctuary rather than a place of abuse.

In line with this, BWI’s Call to Action for International Women’s Day 2026 demands that all affiliates move from policy endorsement to radical implementation. The Secretariat calls for the immediate integration of ILO C190 into all collective bargaining agreements, ensuring that GBVH is treated with the same technical urgency as any other life-threatening workplace hazard. “Governments must accelerate the localisation of these global standards, and unions must double their efforts to organise vulnerable, migrant, and casual workers who remain the most exposed to abuse. This year, our focus is clear: we are not just celebrating progress; we are enforcing it through unyielding solidarity and the collective power of the global labour movement”, declared the BWI Regional Women's Committee Chairperson, Georgina Smedley.