CLASP Comments on Cal OSHA’s Workplace Violence Prevention Proposed Rule
By Lorena Roque
CLASP submitted these comments on proposed changes to California OSHA’s workplace violence prevention regulations. CLASP recommends the inclusion of gender-based violence and harassment as a form of workplace violence. Gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) is about “power over” in the workplace, not sexual desire or attraction. GBVH is a pervasive form of violence and harassment rooted in unequal power relations between (and among) women and men, and it both reflects and reinforces the subordinate status of women in many societies. California has the opportunity to be the first state in this nation to robustly implement GBVH prevention to protect workers from violence and harassment in the world of work.