Why preventing gender-based violence and harassment must become a year-round business priority

Every year, from 25 November to 10 December, organisations around the world turn their attention to gender-based violence. Awareness campaigns are launched, commitments are made, and businesses publicly demonstrate their support for ending violence against women and girls.

But what happens when the campaign ends?

Gender-based violence and harassment do not disappear on 11 December. They remain a daily reality for millions of people, including employees who experience harassment, intimidation, discrimination and abuse in their workplaces.

For business, the question is no longer whether to participate in 16 Days of Activism, but what happens during the remaining 349 days of the year.

From Global Activism to Workplace Responsibility

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign was established in 1991 by women's rights activists at the first Women's Global Leadership Institute.

The campaign deliberately connects 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, with 10 December, Human Rights Day, reinforcing the principle that women's rights are human rights.

More than three decades later, the campaign continues to mobilise governments, civil society and businesses around the world.

Yet awareness alone cannot prevent violence.

For companies, the challenge is translating public commitments into workplace practices that protect employees, address harmful behaviours and create environments where everyone can work with dignity and respect.

Gender-Based Violence and Harassment Is a Business Risk

Workplace GBVH is often viewed primarily as a human resources or employee welfare issue.

That is a serious underestimation of its consequences.

Gender-based violence and harassment can affect productivity, absenteeism, employee retention, workplace morale, organisational reputation and legal compliance.

Employees experiencing harassment may struggle to concentrate, avoid particular colleagues or departments, take additional leave or leave their employment altogether.

Where violence occurs outside the workplace, its consequences can also follow employees into their working lives, affecting safety, wellbeing and performance.

For employers, these impacts can translate into lost productivity, increased recruitment and replacement costs, operational disruption and reduced employee trust.

Ignoring workplace GBVH does not eliminate the risk. It allows the risk to remain unidentified and unmanaged.

The Risk of Not Knowing

One of the greatest challenges facing businesses is that workplace harassment and abuse frequently go unreported.

Employees may fear retaliation, reputational damage, career consequences or simply believe that reporting will not result in meaningful action.

This creates a dangerous gap between what leadership believes is happening and what employees may actually be experiencing.

A company with few reported incidents is not necessarily a company with a safe workplace.

It may be a company where employees do not feel safe enough to speak.

Businesses therefore need to look beyond complaint statistics and assess whether their organisational culture, management practices and reporting mechanisms genuinely support prevention and accountability.

This includes recognising that harassment can occur across departments, management levels and employment relationships, including where individuals hold positions of authority.

Leadership Cannot Remain on the Sidelines

Policies are essential, but policies alone do not create safe workplaces.

A company's culture is shaped by what leadership communicates, demonstrates and tolerates.

When inappropriate behaviour is overlooked, complaints are dismissed or influential individuals are protected from consequences, the organisation sends a message that its stated values are negotiable.

The responsibility for preventing workplace GBVH cannot rest solely with human resources departments.

It requires visible commitment from boards, CEOs and executive leadership teams, supported by managers at every level.

Gender equality and the right to work free from violence and harassment are fundamental principles of human dignity. They should not be treated as optional commitments or annual corporate social responsibility activities.

A zero-tolerance culture is demonstrated through consistent decisions and accountability, not simply through a written policy.

From 16 Days of Awareness to 365 Days of Action

Businesses have an opportunity to use 16 Days of Activism as a catalyst for reviewing how effectively they prevent and respond to workplace GBVH.

This requires practical, ongoing measures:

·       Assessing workplace risks, including organisational culture and power dynamics.

·       Ensuring employees understand unacceptable behaviour and their rights.

·       Providing confidential, accessible and trusted reporting mechanisms.

·       Protecting employees against retaliation.

·       Training managers to recognise warning signs and respond appropriately.

·       Holding perpetrators accountable, irrespective of seniority.

·       Monitoring progress and integrating prevention into governance and risk management.

These are not simply employee wellbeing initiatives. They are part of responsible business management.

What Happens on 11 December?

As organisations prepare their 16 Days of Activism campaigns, business leaders should consider a more important question:

What is the organisation doing to prevent gender-based violence and harassment when the campaign is over?

Participation in an awareness campaign is valuable. But it cannot replace the sustained responsibility to protect employees, manage organisational risks and build workplaces where dignity, equality and respect are non-negotiable.

The real measure of business commitment is not the visibility of its campaign during 16 days.

It is the safety, trust and accountability it builds during the other 349.