Institutional inefficiency as a violation of international and EU law on workplace sexual harassmentPromovendus: Mw. D. Nikolakopoulou
Promotor: Mw. Prof. R. Rijnhout
Duur: 1/9/2021 - 31/8/2025
Abstract:
The research project will deal with the issue of effective enforcement of the law on sexual harassment at the workplace (WSH) in Greece. Greece has been chosen as a case study because there is an obligation to effectively enforce the law on WSH both on the European Union and the international level, due to the recent ratification of Convention 190 on Violence and Harassment. The country is one of the first two EU Member States to ratify the aforementioned ILO Convention, thus offering an opportunity to examine effective enforcement of international WSH law, alongside European. Despite being a pioneer on this aspect, the situation regarding protection from WSH in Greece is not equally promising; the numbers reported in surveys on incidents of WSH1 do not align with either the number of reports to the Ombudsman and the Labour Inspectorate or court cases. In evaluating the effective enforcement of EU and international law, this research project will focus on the main institutions with the competence to deal with cases of WSH, namely the courts, the Ombudsman and the Labour Inspectorate. After conducting interviews with victims of WSH in order to gain an insight on institutional effectiveness, the research will aim to answer when institutional ineffectiveness can amount to a violation of international and EU law on sexual harassment at the workplace.