The European Union Should Not Ignore the Female Face of Forced Labour

This article discusses the European Commissionʼs proposal for a regulation to ban products from forced labour in the European Union (EU) of September 2022. It argues that the Commission failed to conduct an impact assessment which could have addressed gender dimensions. This was omitted because the...

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Main Author: Aleydis Nissen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Scandinavian University Press (Universitetsforlaget) 2023-11-01
Series:Oslo Law Review
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.idunn.no/doi/10.18261/olr.10.1.3
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author Aleydis Nissen
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description This article discusses the European Commissionʼs proposal for a regulation to ban products from forced labour in the European Union (EU) of September 2022. It argues that the Commission failed to conduct an impact assessment which could have addressed gender dimensions. This was omitted because the proposal would be ʻurgentʼ. While not atypical—the EU has often turned a blind eye to womenʼs issues—the gender-blind nature of the proposal is unfortunate. At least three indicators of forced labour that are used by the International Labour Organization—including the two most common indicators vulnerability and wage non-payment—have a differentiated impact on women. Drawing from the three-step framework in the Gender Guidance of the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights, this article suggests a way to start discussions to include a gender perspective in the regulation.
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spelling doaj.art-be85b8b6b7644a6b9ac6c90f02dbb5aa2023-11-14T07:00:08ZengScandinavian University Press (Universitetsforlaget)Oslo Law Review2387-32992023-11-0110111910.18261/olr.10.1.3The European Union Should Not Ignore the Female Face of Forced LabourAleydis Nissen0Centre de Droit International, Université Libre de BruxellesThis article discusses the European Commissionʼs proposal for a regulation to ban products from forced labour in the European Union (EU) of September 2022. It argues that the Commission failed to conduct an impact assessment which could have addressed gender dimensions. This was omitted because the proposal would be ʻurgentʼ. While not atypical—the EU has often turned a blind eye to womenʼs issues—the gender-blind nature of the proposal is unfortunate. At least three indicators of forced labour that are used by the International Labour Organization—including the two most common indicators vulnerability and wage non-payment—have a differentiated impact on women. Drawing from the three-step framework in the Gender Guidance of the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights, this article suggests a way to start discussions to include a gender perspective in the regulation.https://www.idunn.no/doi/10.18261/olr.10.1.3feminismgenderglobal value chainsimport bans
spellingShingle Aleydis Nissen
The European Union Should Not Ignore the Female Face of Forced Labour
Oslo Law Review
feminism
gender
global value chains
import bans
title The European Union Should Not Ignore the Female Face of Forced Labour
title_full The European Union Should Not Ignore the Female Face of Forced Labour
title_fullStr The European Union Should Not Ignore the Female Face of Forced Labour
title_full_unstemmed The European Union Should Not Ignore the Female Face of Forced Labour
title_short The European Union Should Not Ignore the Female Face of Forced Labour
title_sort european union should not ignore the female face of forced labour
topic feminism
gender
global value chains
import bans
url https://www.idunn.no/doi/10.18261/olr.10.1.3
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