©2014 Josh Estey/CARE“I know I cannot quit.”
The Prevalence and Productivity Cost of Sexual
Harassment to the Cambodian Garment Industry
RESEARCH SUMMARY | MARCH 2017

INTRODUCTION
Sexual harassment in the workplace and the community is aform of violence against women and a human rights violation.
It remains a serious and widespread problem for workers in the
Cambodian garment industry. This research finds that it also
represents significant financial costs to employers – totalling
almost USD 89 million per annum.i
Since the mid-1990s the total annual output of Cambodia’s garment sector has grown from an estimated
USD 20 million to over USD 5 billion today, now representing almost a third of the country’s Gross Domestic
Product1 and 80 per cent of its exports.2 85 per cent3 of this 600,000 strong workforce are women.4“Sometimes, of course I
think about not going to work
anymore because of this[sexual harassment]. But then I
think about my family condition
and I know I cannot quit.”
Female garment worker

This multibillion dollar industry has contributed significantly to
Cambodia’s economy, providing new opportunities for millions of people.
However, women workers are limited socially and economicallyfrom claiming their rights, leaving them at risk of exploitation
and abuse. Low wages, fixed-term contracts5, substandard working
conditions, long hours, and sexual harassment are some of the daily
challenges facing women workers - limiting their voice, opportunities
for leadership, and access to rights and protections across the industry.

In an industry in which success relies heavily on women’s labour, sexual harassment is not only a humanrights issue but also an economic issue. Sexual harassment costs the industry money; investment isalso required to create a safe, respectful and gender equitable environment for all employees. For thisreason, CARE commissioned this research study to examine the prevalence and productivity cost of
sexual harassment of workers to the Cambodian garment industry. The study was conducted by CARE incooperation with the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC).
This report presents the findings of a large-scale, nationally representative survey of sexual harassment in the
Cambodian garment industry. It combines quantitative survey data from 1,287 workersii (1,085 women and 198men) across 52 factories, with 25 qualitative interviews and 9 focus groups conducted in a variety of different
living and working environments.

	KEY FINDINGS
1. The productivity cost of sexual harassment in the garment industry is estimated at
USD 89 million per annum.iii
2. Sexual harassment is a regular occurrence. Nearly one in three women garment
factory workers report experiencing sexually harassing behaviours in the workplaceover the last 12 months.
3. One in four men surveyed (50 of the 198 men) reported being asked questions of asexual nature in the workplace.
i. This is a rounded figure from USD 88,742,695.
ii. All gender analysis is based on the total of 1283 where gender was recorded for survey participants.
iii. Based on quantitative data collected between March 2016 to June 2016 where participants were asked to recall ways in which their work
performance was affected by sexual harassment over the previous 12 months.

2‘I know I cannot quit.’ The Prevalence and Productivity Cost of Sexual Harassment to the Cambodian Garment Industry

METHODOLOGY
The safety of respondents and the research team was paramount and informed all
decisions throughout the study.
The design and implementation of the study complied with World Health Organisation ethical guidelines
for researching violence against women.6 Verbal informed consent was sought from all participants.
Respondents were given the opportunity to select a safe space and convenient time for the one-on-one
interview; sometimes she/he chose to conduct the interview over the phone for safety and ease to their work
schedules. There was no additional support requested and no respondent chose to opt out of or discontinue
the interview. At the end of each interview, the respondent was provided with a small pocket-sized booklet
and explanation of health and other services available. The research team ensured the confidentiality andanonymity of the respondents throughout the study. Data analysis in the study has not been presented atfactory level, both to protect factory anonymity and also protect workers from fear of reprisal. The final
dataset of survey responses is password protected and access is restricted to the four members of the coreresearch team.

The research process took 15 months, from December 2015 to March 2017. Field work
was conducted from February 2016 to June 2016.
Enumerators
trained in datacollection; ethicalconsiderations;and drivers, forms
and impacts of
GBV

Survey, focus
group, andinterviewprocedures draftedin English andtranslated into
Khmer

GMAC endorses
study andencourages all
registered garment
factories toparticipate

Survey, focus groupand interview
processes subject topilot testing

41/52 factories
provide costof turnoverinformation

Simple random
sampling using
employee list fromeach participating
factory - 25
workers from eachselected

Simple random
sampling weighted
by factory size 341/682 factories
contacted,
52 factories
participate

Survey conductedwith 1,283
respondents

9 focus groups
and 16 interviews
conducted withfemale garment
workers

4 interviews
conducted withmale garment
factory workers,
and 5 withstakeholders

Data analysed,
and report written
by researchers
and CARE team,reviewed by Peer
Review teamResearch team:
2 international
researchers, 1
national teamleader, and18 national
enumerators‘I know I cannot quit.’ The Prevalence and Productivity Cost of Sexual Harassment to the Cambodian Garment Industry

3

SEXUAL HARASSMENT
According to the International Labor Organization (ILO) sexual harassment is defined
as any “sex-based behaviour that is unwelcome and offensive to its recipient”.7
Sexual harassment is a barrier to equal participation in paid work; it undermines equal participation in theworkplace; and it reduces the quality of working life. This leads to productivity costs for businesses.
Sexual harassment perpetuates and isperpetuated by gender inequality. Genderinequality is characterised by unequalvalue afforded to men and women and an
unequal distribution of power, resources andopportunity. It is often rooted in laws orpolicies formally constraining the rights andopportunities of women, and is reinforced andmaintained through informal mechanisms,
like negative gender norms. When womenare considered to have less value andfewer rights than men, and are barred fromaccessing resources and opportunities, they
are more vulnerable to experiencing sexual
harassment. Sexual harassment in turn also
entrenches these barriers and attitudes,
limiting women’s choices and opportunities.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT IS A FORM OF GENDERBASED VIOLENCE.
It may be:• physical, including physical and sexual violence,
touching, or unnecessary close proximity.
• verbal, such as comments and questions about
appearance, life-style, or sexual orientation, oroffensive phone calls• non-verbal, including leering, whistling,sexually-suggestive gestures, or the display of
pornographic materials.

The majority of women in the garment industry are not on equal terms to their male colleagues. Harmful
gender norms and structures both in and out of the factory mean that they are largely excluded fromcertain types of work (such as leadership roles), get paid less than men, receive less education andtraining than men, are recognised less for their contributions, and are more likely to be exploited andharassed in their workplace.
This research estimates the cost of sexual harassment to productivity within garment factories
and notes the scope of the problem and testimonies of the workers. It does not count the cost to
individuals and society of the broader harms caused, which can include poor health and serious
emotional and psychological distress. Other studies examining national rates of gender-based
violence (GBV) estimate the cost of GBV to women, households and economies to be high.8
This study measured indirect tangible costs as a result of loss of productivity due to sexual harassmentin three different ways: turnover costs, absenteeism costs, and presenteeism costs. 

MEASURING PRODUCTIVITY
Turnover costs: costs of workers leaving the factory due to sexual harassment, including time tofill a vacancy, training for new workers and other costs
Absenteeism costs: costs of days missed from work due to sexual harassment.
Presenteeism costs: costs due to lost productivity from working while not in a fully functional
state of mind due to sexual harassment.
4‘I know I cannot quit.’ The Prevalence and Productivity Cost of Sexual Harassment to the Cambodian Garment IndustryGARMENT FACTORY WORKERS
Young migrant women are most at risk of being targeted by men who harass.
According to the survey conducted by this study, a typical garment factory worker in Cambodia is a 27-yearold internal migrant woman working outside of her home province. She left school after grade seven andearns USD 145 per month, or USD 209 per month including overtime and bonuses. Men typically have one
more year of schooling than women, and earn on average USD 16 more than women per month, or USD 19
more including overtime and bonuses.
Women who are younger, unmarried, internal migrants, living (alone or with friends and family) and working
outside their home provinces, are more likely to experience sexual harassment in their communities thanthose who are older, married, from Phnom Penh, and/or living with their spouse or parents. Migrants weretwice as likely to experience sexual harassment than non-migrant peers on their way to and from work.

“You cannot hide...”: Chanthavy’s story
Two years ago, Chanthavy*, now aged 24, left her parents’ home in Prey Veng province to find work in Phnom Penh. She moved
into a shared room, rented by older cousins who had left the province a few years before her. Her cousins secured her a job at thegarment factory where they worked and Chanthavy has worked there ever since. When her cousins married, they moved out of
the room and now she lives alone. She is single.
“I have lived in this area for two years, but I don’t know many members of the community. There are many problems here in thecommunity - last week somebody stole a neighbour’s motorbike. People always steal small things, like clothes when we leavethem out to dry.
Women feel afraid. We only go out to work and then come back to the house. We fear staying outside. Women who work late tellstories about how they meet gangsters in the street on the way home from the late shift - other women hear their warnings andtry not to go out after work ... The risk to women is increasing because there are so many bad boys now, young people who go
crazy on drugs …
You cannot hide. Almost every morning, we meet problems on the way to work, with men calling out to us and chasing us. Twomonths ago, it happened to me, at 6am on the way to the factory. I was walking and two men began to chase me. It was light atthat time but quiet where we were. I ran to where there would be many people. This happens to many women, but we don’t report
it to the factory. Before, we used to report it, but they didn’t do anything. The men in this community see it happening. They hearus calling for help, but they won’t help us. They are scared of the bad boys because sometimes they carry knives or guns. I haveno male relatives here so I have no one to look out for me.
Some men also cause problems in the factory. They fight and spread rumours about the women workers, especially the young
ones. If you have a problem with a man at the factory, you can report it to the bosses. If something violent happens, the factorymight call for the police in the commune.
Many women change jobs because of [these problems], like one woman who was attacked by a gang outside work. They hurt
her and stole her money. She was frightened, so she moved to [another factory] …Of course, everybody knows some factories
are better than others. Many [at the factory where I work] want to work at [another factory] - they have good rooms there: cheap,
close to the factory, security to keep the bad boys out, no drugs allowed. But those factories are always full. We didn’t change
factories ourselves, though, because we have adapted to the problems. We know not to walk alone, but to wait and walk together.”*Chanthavy is a participant in this study. Her name has been changed to protect her identity.
©2014 Josh Estey/CARE‘I know I cannot quit.’ The Prevalence and Productivity Cost of Sexual Harassment to the Cambodian Garment Industry

5

USD 89 MILLION PER ANNUM...
In total, sexual harassment cost the industry USD 88,742,695, or 0.52 per cent of
Cambodia’s 2015 GDP.10
Turnover costs

USD 85,184

Absenteeism costs

USD 545,000

Presenteeism costs

USD 88,112,511

Total

USD 88,742,695 per annumiv

To estimate the costs of sexual harassment in lost productivity, this study examined turnover costs,
absenteeism, and presenteeism among a representative sample of the 546,467v workers in the Cambodian
garment industry. Between the months of March and May 2016, workers were asked to recall incidents ofsexual harassment over the last 12 months:••

1.17 per cent of workers surveyed reported having moved factories as a result of sexual harassment.
3.3 per cent of workers reported taking an average of 3.9 days per year off work as a direct result of
sexual harassment.
13.5 per cent of workers stated their productivity was significantly affected by sexual harassment,
estimating that on average, they were able to work half as effectively. Representing over 99 per centof the cost to productivity, presenteeism caused by sexual harassment is a significant problem.

•

CALCULATING THE COST OF LOSS TO PRODUCTIVITYTURNOVER COSTS
USD 13.31 (costs of training) x (1.17% of the sample orapprox. 6,400 workers)
ABSENTEEISM COSTS
3.3% of workers taking an average of 3.9 days per year
off work as a direct result of sexual harassment: approx.
69,550 work days missed or 102 days/factory/yearvi
PRESENTEEISM COSTS
USD 99.38iv in lost value per month for the 13.5% of workers
reporting productivity losses due to sexual harassment

iv.
v.
vi.

AN ESTIMATEDCOST OFUSD 85,184 PER
ANNUM ACROSS
THE INDUSTRYAN ESTIMATEDCOST OFUSD 545,000(APPROX)ACROSS THE
INDUSTRY
AN ESTIMATEDCOST OFUSD 88,112,511
PER ANNUM
ACROSS THE
INDUSTRY

See Chapter 6 in the technical report.
This figure has been extrapolated from the sample data to reflect the full 682 factories registered with GMAC at the time of the survey.
365 (28.4 per cent) of all workers in the sample experienced some form of sexual harassment in the workplace (see Table 5 in thetechnical report). We asked these workers to estimate the effect that sexual harassment had on their productivity. 174 workers(13.5 per cent) of all workers in the sample indicated that sexual harassment had some effect on productivity, with the meaneffect reported at 49.67 per cent among these 174 workers.

6‘I know I cannot quit.’ The Prevalence and Productivity Cost of Sexual Harassment to the Cambodian Garment Industry

NEARLY 1 IN 3 WOMEN...
Nearly one in three female garment workers reported experiencing sexual harassmentin their workplace over the last 12 months.vii
Of these women, 68.2 per cent reported “being made to feel uncomfortable or unsafe”. 32.5 per centreported “receiving unwanted leers, sexual comments, noises or gestures”. 19.5 per cent also reported beingreferred to in “sexist or degrading terms”.viii
Outside the workplaceix, women and men in the garment industry perceive a regular and daily risk of sexual
harassment. 16.5 per cent of women and 7.6 per cent of men have experienced sexual harassment outside
the factory over the last 12 months.x“We all experience problems withmen on the way to and from work.
They shout things at us and try toembarrass us, but I try not to care.
It doesn’t happen too often, justonce or twice a week. Everybody
experiences this [but] … I know I
cannot quit.”
Female Garment Worker

Despite the fact the journey to and from work is generally
undertaken during daylight hours and usually in the company
of many other workers, many women reported regularharassment and abuse.
Outside the factory, the most common experiences of sexual
harassment included being stared or leered at, whistled atand subjected to inappropriate comments. Migrant women
workers were more than twice as likely to experience sexual
harassment than non-migrant women workers on their way toand from work.

In order to avoid unpleasant and threatening situations, manyfemale workers avoided going out as much as possible, making
sure when they did so that they arranged for somebody toaccompany them. Women were generally expected – by eachother as well as the wider community – to stay home at night
and to avoid leisure activities, especially without someone toaccompany them.
Ultimately, women workers learned quickly that their mobility
was confined, which limited work and leisure options. Their
voices have been silenced by sexual harassment, both in theworkplace and in the community.

“First of all [a woman] has to stayinside till morning – even if you havea problem… If somebody comes toknock on your door, then you don’t
open it. You have to be afraid andlisten at the wall to see if it is whothey say [because] sometimes theypretend to be someone else.”
Female Garment Worker©2014 Josh Estey/CARE
vii. See Table 5 in the technical report.
viii. See Table 6 in the technical report.
ix. In the community and while commuting to and from work.
x. Based on data collected between March to June 2016 where participants were asked to recall ways in which their work performance wasaffected by sexual harassment over the previous 12 months.
‘I know I cannot quit.’ The Prevalence and Productivity Cost of Sexual Harassment to the Cambodian Garment Industry

7

Many workers find the legal system for reporting sexual harassment to be ineffective,
explaining that authorities are both disinterested and disempowered.
At the national level, the Labour Law 1997 and the Criminal Code 2009 exist as regulatory frameworks related
to sexual harassment and the National Action Plan to Prevent Violence Against Women 2014-2018 (NAPVAW)
serves as the government’s statement of intent to address violence against women, which includes sexual
harassment.
The Criminal Code includes provisions for various sexual
offences that are against the law, such as rape, sexualassault and indecent exposure; but its definition ofsexual harassment is narrow and does not cover thebroader range of behaviours understood to constitutesexual harassment. Similarly, while the Labour Law statesthat ‘all form of sexual violation (harassment) is strictly
forbidden’, it does not include a clear definition of sexual
harassment in the workplace.

“If it’s not violent, they [the garment
factory] give a warning. They say that if
a worker has three warnings, then theyshould be fired. But I’ve never seen that
happen at my factory…”
Female Garment Worker

The NAPVAW is a comprehensive plan of action involving a multi-sector coordinated approach from state
institutions, civil society, private sector, development partners and citizens. Its aim is to provide acomprehensive plan for action to combat violence.

©2014 Josh Estey/CARE

8‘I know I cannot quit.’ The Prevalence and Productivity Cost of Sexual Harassment to the Cambodian Garment Industry

Women bear the burden of responsibility to prevent sexual harassment.
There is an absence of a minimum level of protective or
preventative measures in the garment industry, like astandard policy for sexual harassment across the industry,or recognition and action against sexual harassment fromsenior levels of management. As a result, women workers
reported they have little means to protect themselves or
to receive appropriate support from factory managementand duty bearers in the community.

“[Sometimes the male workers] talk about taking
a girl to have [sex with] . . . When this happens,she doesn’t change factory, but she changes theplace she works, like if he works on one side [ofthe factory] then she would move to the otherside.”
Female Garment Worker“If you have a big problem – like you
are sick at work – then they will takeyou to the hospital. But if it’s a problem
between two workers, then they will fireyou both.”Female Garment Worker
As a result, women developed other coping
strategies – such as moving to another part of thefactory, walking to and from the factory in groups,
and not leaving their rooms at night or avoiding
restaurants and bars. These coping mechanisms
restricted women’s freedom and mobility and put
the onus on women to protect themselves andbear responsibility for what happens to them,encouraging a culture of victim-blaming.

Authority figures offer very little assistance to garment workers – either preventative or investigatory – inrelation to sexual harassment. Instead, they reinforce unequal and restrictive gender norms that lay theblame for harassment on victims, and in particular female victims.

“Women have to be very moral, not pretend to be a sexy girl or a bad girl. If people see that you
are an honourable girl, then people cannot harass you. Even if they do, then we can report it to
the authorities and the man will be punished. From my own perspective [though], some of themgo out and some of them call their boyfriend or girlfriend to come to their rented room, they goout at night and drink and so on. If they act like this, then they already have a relationship with aboyfriend or girlfriend, so they cannot say they [suffer] harassment.”
Male Village Leader
This cultural narrative, in which women were strongly
criticised for experiencing harassment, is a key theme toemerge from the focus groups and interviews. This indicatesan environment in which the responsibility to prevent sexual
harassment lies primarily in women’s restriction of their own
freedom of movement. Female workers in the communities
interviewed for this study tended to view after-hours leisureas irresponsible, as it was thought to increase the risk ofsexual assault. Indeed, most female workers viewed sexual
harassment as a problem partly of their own making andhence, their responsibility to overcome.

“If you stay in your room at night
then you are 100 per cent safe, but
if you want to go out, then you will
end up getting involved with gangs
and you’ll face problems.”
Female Garment Worker‘I know I cannot quit.’ The Prevalence and Productivity Cost of Sexual Harassment to the Cambodian Garment Industry

9

HARMFUL GENDER NORMS...
One in four men surveyed (55 out of the 198 men) reported being exposed touncomfortable or harassing behaviours and being asked questions of a sexual nature.
Male workers consistently and more often reported harassment in the form of inappropriate jokes, sexual
rumours or as recipients of unwanted sexualised communication. The forms of harassment appear different
for men in that they may pressure them to participate in a workplace culture of sexual harassment. Over one
in five had heard or experienced inappropriate jokes in the workplace and 9 per cent were shown offensive
or pornographic images. Both the Employee Survey and the qualitative findings reveal women and men
adapt to and accept sexual harassment as the norm in the garment factory environment, indicating thatmen may become passive or active participants of harassment.xi Men are both perpetrators and victims ofsexual harassment; traditional masculine values in society in general are replicated in factory settings, andreward behaviours like sexual posturing, bravado and denigrating women, while a man reporting sexual
harassment is seen to be feminine.
While men make up only 15 per cent of the employee
population they generally hold higher positions (greaterlevels of responsibility and authority) and thereby will havegreater control over workplace culture (e.g. normalisation ofsexualised behaviour and harassment). Further research isneeded to better understand gender enculturation - where
people ‘learn’ the requirements of their surrounding culture andacquire attitudes, language values and behaviours appropriate
or necessary in that culture - in factories.

“[Sexual harassment] is a problem
inside the factory. [When thesethings happen], some people careand some people don’t. Normallythose who care, only care the firsttime and then it becomes normal.”Male Garment Worker©2014 Josh Estey/CARExi.

See Chapter 5, Section 5.1 Harassment in Factories, in technical report.

10‘I know I cannot quit.’ The Prevalence and Productivity Cost of Sexual Harassment to the Cambodian Garment Industry

CONCLUSIONSThis study shows that sexual harassment remains a serious issue for women workers
in the Cambodian garment industry, and it is associated with considerable costs to thefactories themselves.
The social and economic costs of sexual harassment in the workplace are high, as the acts of workplace
violence affect not only the direct survivors and perpetrators, but also include indirect victims (including
secondary survivors and future generations), the factory, and society at large (e.g. increasing the strain
on medical and mental health care systems, and contributing to overall lower quality of life, isolation,
unemployment and productivity which affects GDP). As evidenced in this study, sexual harassment candiscourage women and men from working and reduce productivity.
The research reveals a day-to-day tolerance andadaptation to sexual harassment caused by unequal
gender norms. Responsibility is placed on women toprevent and protect themselves from harassment, andthey are blamed and shamed them when they experienceharassment. These norms and approaches should bechallenged and replaced by a comprehensive, coordinatedand systematic response that is based on the principlethat all women have a right to be free from violence,
including sexual harassment.

Women should not be expected to limit
their movement or ignore harassment.
Factories have a duty to provide safeand decent work conditions to theiremployees; and authorities have a
responsibility to ensure that community
members are safe.

Action is required at all levels, including: strengthening national legislation and oversight; improving
factory conditions and codes of conduct; committing community authorities (such as local leaders, police
and unions) to take sexual harassment seriously; and empowering workers to know and demand their rights.
Another key finding of this research was men’s experience of sexual harassment. However, this researchstudy did not explore in detail how men and women experience sexual harassment differently, how theircoping mechanisms differ, and the impacts of their harassment on workplace culture and gender norms
among male colleagues. We recommend further studies conduct additional in-depth research with men
in the garment industry to explore in detail: men’s experiences of harassment, whether as perpetrators,
witnesses, or victims; and the drivers of sexual harassment in workplace culture.

More broadly, efforts must be made to address the root cause
of sexual harassment: gender inequality. Derogatory attitudes
towards women must be addressed both through workplace
processes, and through targeted campaigns in the broader
community. This is a task that involves everyone working
together: government, industry and civil society.

‘I know I cannot quit.’ The Prevalence and Productivity Cost of Sexual Harassment to the Cambodian Garment Industry

11

RECOMMENDATIONSPreventing and reducing sexual harassment requires a coordinated response. The
following recommendations are directed at the Royal Government of Cambodia, local
authorities in communities surrounding garment factories, the garment industry,
unions, civil society, and the ILO’s Better Factories Cambodia Program.
CARE endorses the overall objectives and activities put forward by the Royal Government of Cambodia
in the National Action Plan to Prevent Violence Against Women 2014-2018 (NAPVAW). The detailed
recommendations below highlight particular activities under this plan which directly relate to the findingsof this report.
CARE’s overall recommendations are threefold:
1. Improve productivity, prevention and protections through industry and Government jointly promoting
harassment-free work and community environments.
2. Work towards better legal protections against sexual harassment.
3. Invest in and support programs, law and policies that continue to build the reputation of Cambodia as acountry committed to gender equality, appropriate labour standards and protection against sexual harassment.

1. Improve productivity, prevention and protections through industry and Government
jointly promoting harassment-free work and community environments.
1.1. Given the impact of sexual harassment on women’s well-being and workforce productivity, CARE endorses
and recommends prioritising the following activities identified in the “Community and Workplace”
and “Capacity Building” sections of the NAPVAW by both Government and industry stakeholders:•••“Design, implement and evaluate interventions to prevent violence against women in both public
and private spaces with increased mobilization of civil society participation and initiatives.”12“Promote safe, harassment-free and respectful public and private workplace environments throughraising awareness of labour rights, ensuring policies and mechanisms to prevent and respondto workplace harassment, and working with employers to create safe and harassment-free work
environment.”13
Increase the capacity of all key actors to understand the physical, psychological and financial
impact of violence against women.14

1.2. Given the identified gaps in workplace-level protections, CARE recommends garment factories, withthe support of the industry body GMAC:
•
•
•
•

•

12

Develop and/or adopt and implement workplace-level policies (in line with international bestpractice) which put processes in place to prevent, respond to and monitor sexual harassment.
Train all management and staff on sexual harassment, gender equality, and bystander intervention
to ensure that the workplace-level policy is properly understood and implemented.
Provide necessary awareness to workers on the workplace policy, and their rights and responsibility
to report incidents in the factory to the designated management staff.
Task appropriate employees with responsibility and expertise in addressing sexual harassment
and creating cultural change so that sexual harassment is no longer tolerated. This may involve
establishing a sexual harassment committee or explicitly and publicly tasking an existing committee
or individuals with this mandate.
Create linkages, dialogue and reporting mechanisms (where appropriate) between other workplaceand community stakeholders, such as unions, commune authorities, landlords, and police to address
and prevent sexual harassment that occurs both inside and outside the workplace.
‘I know I cannot quit.’ The Prevalence and Productivity Cost of Sexual Harassment to the Cambodian Garment Industry

1.3. Given the identified gaps in workplace-level protections, CARE recommends the Ministry of Labour andVocational Training:••

Include identifying policies and protections from sexual harassment, and the implementation
thereof, in the Inspection Checklist.
Train Labour Inspectors on sexual harassment and gender and facilitate ongoing knowledge sharing
between officials and factory management through the labour inspection process.

2. Work towards better legal protections against sexual harassment.
2.1 Given the gaps in the implementation of the law identified by the legal analysis and qualitative
findings of this report, CARE endorses and recommends prioritising the following activities identified
in the “Multi-sectoral Coordinated Response Mechanism”, “Effective Police Protection” and “Legal Aidand Access to Justice” sections of the NAPVAW by both Government and industry stakeholders:•••“Develop a coordinated response mechanism between ministries, institutions, service providers,
civil society, private sector and other key actors to promote a coordinated prevention and response
strategy at the national level and to build knowledge and skills.”15“Clarify operational standards and codes of conduct, review and share at all levels to promote
improved police response to violence against women.”16“Legal and justice reform process considers and discusses violence against women issues.”17

2.2. Furthermore, CARE recommends that the Government of Cambodia:••

Begin a consultative law reform process to consider an appropriate new or existing legal mechanism
or institutional body that has the power to give legal remedy for people who suffer detriment due
to sexual harassment.
Create new legislation or amend existing law to create easy-to-access, affordable legal remedy for
all forms of workplace and/ or community sexual harassment, including vicarious responsibility(accountability) of employers, which cannot be remedied at a workplace level.

Garment workers sign commitments to listen to their peers, show support and report to the authorities when they hear of
sexual harassment as part of CARE’s Sexual Harassment Stops Here campaign. ©2015 Jenny Conrad/CARE‘I know I cannot quit.’ The Prevalence and Productivity Cost of Sexual Harassment to the Cambodian Garment Industry

13

3. Invest in and support programs, laws and policies that continue to build thereputation of Cambodia as a country committed to gender equality, appropriate
labour standards and protections against sexual harassment.
3.1 G iven the high prevalence and cost of sexual harassment to the garment industry and the potential for
Cambodia to set itself apart as a destination for responsible investment, CARE recommends that theGovernment, industry stakeholders, and the ILO’s Better Factories Initiative:•••

Through a consultative process with stakeholders, agree to a Cambodian industry-wide common
code of conduct to address sexual harassment in the workplace.
Coordinate with suppliers and retailers to adopt international standards of responsible investment
with regards to sexual harassment, and reflect this commitment to international standards throughmonitoring and auditing protocols.
Endorse and support the global movement for a labour convention on ending violence in theworkplace.

3.2. G
 iven the intersections of women’s workers right to be free from sexual harassment and the loss of
productivity to industry caused by sexual harassment, CARE recommends that industry stakeholders,
unions and civil society work together to:••

Ensure representation of women in factory committees and union structures so that women’s voice
and experience of sexual harassment is brought to the fore as a workplace issue and, in turn,
fed back to factory management for action. A possible mechanism would be setting targets for
women’s membership of committees.
Endorse and engage with public campaigns which aim to promote respectful relationships,
change harmful gendered social norms and engage all community members to intervene in sexual
harassment and gender based violence.

Garment workers review details of who to contact if they see or experience sexual harassment.
©2014 Thomas Cristofoletti/Ruom for CARE

14

‘I know I cannot quit.’ The Prevalence and Productivity Cost of Sexual Harassment to the Cambodian Garment Industry

REFERENCES
1. International Labour Organization [ILO] (2015). Cambodia Garment and Footwear Sector Bulletin 1, Issue One.
Phnom Penh: ILO, July 2015.
2. R eaksmey, H. and Zsombor, P. (2015). ‘Garment Export Growth Slows Markedly in 2014.’ The Cambodia Daily.
Accessed on 07/02/2017 at https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/garment-export-growth-slowsmarkedly-in-2014-77763/.
3. U nited Nations Population Fund [UNFPA] (2014). Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights of Garment Factory
Workers Literature Review. Phnom Penh: UNFPA.
4. Ibid.
5. Fair Action (2015). A short-term solution: a study of the use of fixed duration contracts in the Cambodian garment
industry. Stockholm: Fair Action.
6. Ellsberg, M. and Heise, L. (2005). Researching Violence Against Women: a practical guide for researchers andactivists. Washington D.C.: World Health Organisation.
7. I nternational Labour Organisation [ILO] (2005). Sexual Harassment at work: National and International Responses.
Conditions of Work and Employment Programme. Geneva: ILO.
I nternational Labour Organisation [ILO] (2007). Declaration on Fundamental Principles of and Rights at Work:
Sexual Harassment at Work. International Labour Office, 7 Feb. 2007. Accessed on 07/02/3017 at http://www.ilo.
org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---declaration/documents/publication/wcms_decl_fs_96_en.pdf.
8. Darko, E., Smith, W. and Walker, D. (2015). Gender Violence in Papua New Guinea. London: Overseas Development
Institute.
Vyas, S. (2013). Estimating the Association between Women’s Earnings and Partner Violence: Evidence from the
2008-2009 Tanzania National Panel Survey. World Bank.
9. D
 uvvury, N. and Carney, P. (2012). Estimating the Costs of Domestic Violence against Women in Vietnam. Hanoi:
UN Women Vietnam.
10. GDP estimated from: World Bank (2016). Cambodia Country Profile. Accessed on 14/06/2016 at http://data.
worldbank.org/country/cambodia.
11. Garment Manufacturer’s Association of Cambodia [GMAC] (2016) Members List. Accessed on 02/02/2016.
12. Ministry of Women’s Affairs [MoWA] (2014). National Action Plan for the Prevention of Violence Against Women andGirls. Phnom Penh: Royal Government of Cambodia. Section 3.2.1.4 Community and Workplace, Outcome 6 and 7,
Activity 1.
13. Ibid., Section 3.2.1.4 Community and Workplace, Outcome 6 and 7, Activity 3.
14. Ibid., 3.2.4, Strategic Area 4: Capacity Building, Outcome 17.
15. Ibid., Section 3.2.2 Strategic Area 2: Legal Protection and Multi-sectoral Services, Outcome 9, Activity 1.
16. Ibid., Section 3.2.2.3: Effective Police Protection, Outcome 11, Activity 1.
17. Ibid., Section 3.2.2.5 Legal Aid and Access to Justice, Outcome 13, Activity 2.

The technical report “I know I cannot quit.” The Prevalence and Productivity Cost of
Sexual Harassment to the Cambodian Garment Industry is available atwww.care-cambodia.org and www.care.org.au.
A great many people came together to enable this study to be conducted; to all of those involved, asincere thank you. In particular, thanks and gratitude to the 1,287 factory workers who participated in
the study, generously providing their limited time to recall painful experiences of hardship, harassment
and violence. Without their generosity, this research would not have been possible.
All photographs included in this research summary are illustrative only anddo not feature any survey participants.
‘I know I cannot quit.’ The Prevalence and Productivity Cost of Sexual Harassment to the Cambodian Garment Industry

15

“I know I cannot quit.”
The Prevalence and Productivity Costof Sexual Harassment to the
Cambodian Garment Industry

Sexual harassment in the workplace and the community is a form of violence against
women and a human rights violation.
Of the 600,000 workers employed by Cambodia’s garment sector, 85 per cent are women. However, despite
their high rate of participation in the garment industry, women are not on equal terms with their malecolleagues. They are largely excluded from certain types of work (such as leadership roles), get paid lessthan men, receive less education and training than men, and are more likely to be exploited and harassedin their workplace.
Since the mid-1990s the total annual output of the garment sector has grown from an estimated USD 20
million to over USD 5 billion today, almost a third of national Gross Domestic Product. In an industry whose
success relies heavily on migrant women’s labour, sexual harassment is therefore not only a human rights
issue but also an economic issue worth addressing, with appropriate investment required to create a safe,
respectful and competitive work environment for all its employees.
For this reason, CARE has conducted this study in cooperation with the Garment Manufacturers Associationof Cambodia (GMAC). It was funded through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP), from theAustralian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Australian public.
CARE has worked to improve conditions for marginalised women workers, including women in the garment sector; theentertainment, hospitality and tourism industry; and more recently, the construction industry. This includes nearly adecade of work tackling sexual harassment in the workplace and community.
In the garment sector, we work with government to strengthen garment factory management and law enforcement
authorities’ ability to implement laws effectively. We engage with employers and the private sector to ensure effective
policies and procedures are in place to protect workers and adequate services are available to employees. We train factory
workers to have the knowledge, confidence and skills to make informed decisions about their lives and demand the sexualand reproductive health rights and services they need. We also address harmful social and legal gender norms aroundsexual harassment through broader community outreach and advocacy.
The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of CARE International, the Australian Department
of Foreign Affairs and Trade, or any other participating organisations.

CARE International
Email: info@care.org.au | khm.info@careint.org
Website: www.care.org.au | www.care-cambodia.org©CARE International March 2017