Workplace harassment based on gender in Latin America from a human rights perspective

Labor rights are rights related to work recognized in international human rights instruments, and these rights belong to the individual. Given the power imbalance in the employment relationship, workers' freedom requires special protection, especially because employers concentrate power. From a gender perspective, social relations reproduce an unequal distribution between men and women, generating tensions and violence that primarily affect women. Within this framework, workplace harassment and sexual harassment constitute expressions of gender-based violence, with physical, psychological, economic, and familial consequences for those affected. This article, based on a literature review, analyzes gender-based workplace harassment in some Latin American countries and finds hostile behaviors consistent with this phenomenon in the cases studied. It concludes that legal gaps persist, particularly in the procedural sphere; that adaptation to ILO Convention 190 (2019) and implementation of preventive and action protocols with a zero-tolerance, gender, and human rights approach are required; and that awareness-raising, training, and capacity-building initiatives should be promoted in universities and workplaces.