Senator Carlos Filizzola presented the results of a survey on workplace violence carried out with ParlAmericas before the Chamber of Senators of Paraguay
Senator Carlos Filizzola Pallarés, chair of the Equity and Gender Committee of the Honourable Chamber of Senators of Paraguay, presented the results of the First survey on workplace violence, gender-based violence and sexual harassment in the Honourable Chamber of Senators of Paraguay during the Senate’s sitting on December 2. The survey was carried out by the Senate of Paraguay and ParlAmericas as part of a technical support project on parliamentary gender mainstreaming undertaken through a Memorandum of Understanding between the organizations.
The online, anonymous survey was distributed by the Senate’s General Secretariat and the General Directorate on Human Resources to all parliamentary staff and senators in November 2020, and it had three main objectives: to provide an initial assessment of instances of violence experienced and/or witnesses by people working at the Senate; to learn about their perceptions of these situations; and to shed light on this unacceptable phenomenon as the first step in developing the institutional responses required to eradicate it.
Workplace and gender-based violence are problems that affect all kinds of workplaces, including parliaments. Addressing these problems should be prioritized to ensure the safety and integrity of all. The implementation of this survey in Paraguay represents a good practice at the regional and global levels, as it helps to illuminate instances of workplace and gender-based violence, and to facilitate the development of response measures based on gender-disaggregated data.
In his speech during the Senate’s plenary session, Senator Filizzola stated that “we trust that this essential initiative will contribute to addressing the issue of workplace violence, especially against women, and to making this Chamber an inclusive, respectful, friendly, and safe space for everyone.”
In addition, on Tuesday, November 30, Lisane Thirsk, Deputy Director for Gender Equality at ParlAmericas, presented the results of the survey in a session of the Senate’s Equity and Gender Committee, with the distinguished participation of Senator Filizzola, Senator Georgia Arrúa, Secretary General Mr. Antonio Sánchez, as well as representatives of different administrative departments. One of the main findings of the survey was that 86% of the people who report having experienced an incident of harassment or violence are women, demonstrating the need to apply a gender-lens to address this problem.
