IV 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 683 
Supporting and protecting the right of women working in developing countries 
to safe workplaces, free from gender-based violence, reprisals, and intimi-
dation. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 14, 2016 
Ms. SPEIER (for herself and Ms. SCHAKOWSKY) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Supporting and protecting the right of women working in 
developing countries to safe workplaces, free from gen-
der-based violence, reprisals, and intimidation. 
Whereas women in developing countries who have joined the 
industrial workforce have continued to suffer or become 
increasingly vulnerable to economic violence such as 
forced overtime, wage theft, abusive short-term contracts, 
discrimination, sexual harassment, and violence at work; 
Whereas women typically make up the majority of the work-
force in industries where workers’ rights have been re-
stricted such as export manufacturing like the global ap-
parel industry and other export sectors such as cut flow-
ers and fresh produce; 
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Whereas sexual violence is often used by male managers as 
a means of intimidation and punishment when female 
workers make a mistake, fail to meet production targets, 
ask for leave or arrive late to work; 
Whereas women are particularly vulnerable to violence and 
intimidation at work, due to the frequently dispropor-
tionate number of male managers, lack of policing and 
reporting of sexual harassment, and common cultural 
norms that assert male dominance and place dispropor-
tionate pressure on women to maintain their income and 
support their children and elders; 
Whereas a survey of female garment industry workers in 
Bangladesh revealed that nearly one-third of those sur-
veyed had been the recipient of unwelcome sexual over-
tures, inappropriate touching, or threats of being forced 
to undress and nearly half reported being beaten or 
struck in the face by their supervisors; 
Whereas some of the most deadly accidents in industrial his-
tory have occurred in export-processing industries where 
female workers predominate, including Ali Enterprises in 
Pakistan in 2012, the deadliest apparel factory fire in 
history in which 259 workers’ lives were lost, and the 
Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013, where 1,134 
Bangladeshi workers lost their lives and 2,500 more were 
injured, the majority of whom were women; 
Whereas these and other industrial accidents have occurred 
in facilities that were monitored and certified as safe and 
decent workplaces by private, voluntary corporate social 
responsibility initiatives invested in by global brands from 
the United States and Europe; 
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Whereas female workers are often knowingly exposed to dan-
gerous and life-threatening machinery and toxic sub-
stances that are no longer used in developed nations due 
to their reproductive and general health effects, without 
even the simplest of safety measures like gloves or face 
masks; and 
Whereas research shows that workers who are more well-in-
formed about health and safety facilitate safer work-
places, and legal protections that allow workers’ elected 
union representatives to raise safety and other concerns 
without fear of reprisal are essential for worker safety: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that the United States Government should— 
(1) support policies that create safe and decent 
jobs in developing countries which is critical to en-
suring peaceful and sustainable economic growth 
and development in a globalized world; 
(2) support policies that reduce gender-based 
violence and other forms of discrimination at work, 
improving the ability of women workers to speak out 
in defense of their rights without fear of reprisals; 
(3) encourage the development of an Inter-
national Labour Conference Convention to address 
gender-based violence at work; 
(4) promote labor rights in trade agreements 
and enforce the right of women and other workers 
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to join unions in defense of their own rights and 
safety; 
(5) utilize diplomatic means and international 
aid to support measures to end violence against 
women in the workplace and empower women and 
other workers to participate fully in their economies 
and to protect their safety; and 
(6) encourage United States companies with 
international supply chains and United States pro-
curement agencies to increase transparency and ac-
countability in order to ensure that their products 
are produced in workplaces that work aggressively to 
end gender-based workplace violence and respect the 
rights of women workers. 
Æ 
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