Kabir Humayun, Maple Myfanwy, Usher Kim
School of Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia.
Department of Sociology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Front Public Health. 2025 May 22;13:1580709. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1580709. eCollection 2025.
Bangladeshi female readymade garment (RMG) workers' experience of sexual harassment in the workplace raises concerns about the overall working conditions of the garment sector. Female workers' feelings of being unsafe and threatened in the workplace have been considered an alarming issue for international buyers/brands who aim to ensure sexual harassment-free workplaces as a condition of sourcing clothing items. We hypothesise that the frequent experience of sexual harassment among Bangladeshi female RMG workers tends to be associated with (i) age, (ii) marital status, (iii) night shift (working during night time), (iv) non-existence of anti-sexual harassment cells (a formal body/committee works against sexual harassment incidence in the workplace), (v) trade union activity, and (vi) factory location and types. To our knowledge, there has been no previous research on the experience of sexual harassment by female garment workers and its connections to such a variety of occupational and geographical factors. By addressing this gap, the present study aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors associated with female garment workers' experience of sexual harassment.
Cross-sectional data were collected from 332 (mean age = 26.10 years; SD = 6.54 years) currently employed female garment workers in Bangladesh, between February and July 2018. Data were analysed using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression modelling.
In the past 6 months, nearly one-quarter (22.0%) of workers reported experiencing frequent sexual harassment inside the factory, mainly by male co-workers (37.0%), supervisors (32.9%), security guards (27.4%), and factory owners (2.7%). Workers from the factories located in Chattogram (a peripheral region compared to Dhaka) reported a higher frequency of sexual harassment than those working in factories located in Dhaka (the capital city of Bangladesh). Overall, the percentages of unmarried and young female workers who experienced sexual harassment were almost double compared to married and aged female workers. Workers' frequent experience of sexual harassment at the workplace was associated with factory location ( 0.67, 95%CI 1.02, 3.76), night shift ( 2.58, 95%CI 6.92, 25.18), and non-existence of an anti-sexual harassment cell inside the factory ( 0.62, 95%CI 0.97, 3.55).
Urgent improvements in overall workplace conditions and anti-sexual harassment programmes are needed to safeguard female workers in the Bangladeshi RMG sector.
孟加拉国女性成衣工人在工作场所遭受性骚扰的经历引发了人们对服装行业整体工作条件的担忧。对于旨在确保工作场所无性骚扰作为采购服装产品条件的国际买家/品牌而言，女性工人在工作场所感到不安全和受到威胁一直是一个令人担忧的问题。我们假设，孟加拉国女性成衣工人频繁遭受性骚扰的情况往往与以下因素有关：（i）年龄，（ii）婚姻状况，（iii）夜班（夜间工作），（iv）不存在反性骚扰小组（一个正式的机构/委员会致力于应对工作场所的性骚扰事件），（v）工会活动，以及（vi）工厂位置和类型。据我们所知，此前尚无关于女性服装工人性骚扰经历及其与各种职业和地理因素之间联系的研究。通过填补这一空白，本研究旨在调查与女性服装工人性骚扰经历相关的患病率和风险因素。
2018年2月至7月期间，从孟加拉国332名（平均年龄=26.10岁；标准差=6.54岁）在职女性服装工人中收集横断面数据。使用双变量和多变量逻辑回归模型对数据进行分析。
在过去6个月中，近四分之一（22.0%）的工人报告在工厂内经常遭受性骚扰，主要来自男同事（37.0%）、主管（32.9%）、保安（27.4%）和工厂老板（2.7%）。位于吉大港（与达卡相比的一个周边地区）工厂的工人报告的性骚扰频率高于在达卡（孟加拉国首都）工厂工作的工人。总体而言，遭受性骚扰的未婚和年轻女性工人的比例几乎是已婚和年长女性工人的两倍。工人在工作场所频繁遭受性骚扰与工厂位置（比值比0.67，95%置信区间1.02，3.76）、夜班（比值比2.58，95%置信区间6.92，25.18）以及工厂内不存在反性骚扰小组（比值比0.62，95%置信区间0.97，3.55）有关。
需要紧急改善整体工作场所条件和反性骚扰计划，以保护孟加拉国成衣行业的女性工人。
