Female factory workers producing clothing and shoes in Vietnam – many probably for major US and European brands – face systemic sexual harassment and violence at work, the Observer can reveal.
Nearly half (43.1%) of 763 women interviewed in factories in three Vietnamese provinces said they had suffered at least one form of violence and/or harassment in the previous year, according to a study by the Fair Wear Foundation and Care International out on Monday.
The abuse – which ranged from groping and slapping to rape and threats of contract termination – sheds a light on working conditions endured by women in some Vietnamese factories with as many as 20,000 employees, said Dr Jane Pillinger, a gender-based violence expert and author of the study.
“I am shocked that nearly 50% of the women interviewed had experienced some form of violence in the past year, and I’ve been working on this issue for 30 years,” she said. “There’s a significant culture of silence around this, and as a result the numbers are probably even higher: we know from feedback that some women wouldn’t answer the questions in the interviews, perhaps because they feared their responses would somehow get back to their employers or husbands.” …
One April evening in 1986, Bill Heine was sitting on the steps opposite his newly purchased terraced house in Oxford, drinking a glass of wine, when he turned to his friend and asked a simple question: “Can you do something to liven it up?”
His friend, the sculptor John Buckley, provided an answer in the shape of an eight-metre (25ft) shark which would sit on his roof, perpetually appearing as though it had just crashed into the house from the sky. The fibreglass fish, which became known as the Headington Shark after the Oxford suburb, led Heine, a local journalist and businessman who died last week, into a six-year legal battle with the local council.
The process turned a relatively unremarkable street into a beloved local landmark and resulted in one of the most notable triumphs of British eccentricity over petty bureaucracy. …
… Heseltine’s planning inspector, Peter Macdonald, investigated and ultimately came out in favour of keeping the sculpture, with an official ruling that has gained legendary status among town planners for its defence of art.
“In this case it is not in dispute that the shark is not in harmony with its surroundings, but then it is not intended to be in harmony with them,” wrote Macdonald in his official ruling.
“The council is understandably concerned about precedent here. The first concern is simple: proliferation with sharks (and heaven knows what else) crashing through roofs all over the city. This fear is exaggerated. In the five years since the shark was erected, no other examples have occurred … any system of control must make some small place for the dynamic, the unexpected, the downright quirky. I therefore recommend that the Headington Shark be allowed to remain.”
A few years ago, it was reported that the shark was at risk of being removed and the the bank was threatening to repossess the property. Heine’s son Magnus stepped in and bought the property to make sure the well-loved shark was not destroyed by “another set of bureaucrats unable to deal with something that wouldn’t fit a standardised form”.
After Heine died of cancer, aged 74, last week, tributes came flooding in from many locals, including city councillors.
Gray described Heine as a “colourful character” who inspired people. He said: “We once had a 12-year-old boy visit from America. He was miserable and unhappy when he arrived, so we took him to see the house. He left with a very big smile on his face.”
Espín was a leader in the Cuban revolution and in the women’s movement in Cuba. She was part of the July 26 Movement that overthrew the Batista dictatorship in 1959. After the revolution, Espín was a founder of the Federation of Cuban Women in 1960 and was its leader until she died in 2007.
She headed Cuba’s delegations to many international women’s Congresses. She was a member of the National Assembly and the Council of State of Cuba, and also of the Central Committee and the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba. She was given the honorary title of Hero of the Republic of Cuba, and was a recipient of the Lenin Peace Prize.
Via Freedom Road Socialist Organization (Fight Back!)
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