Stand up for Zero Discrimination against LGBT people at work

Posted on 29 February 2016 by ILO Blog

Richard Howard, ILO Senior Specialist on HIV and AIDS, Asia and the Pacific

I mentioned to an old friend a while back that we at the ILO were carrying out research on discrimination toward lesbian, gay, transgendered people and bisexuals (LGBT) in the workplace. His response – and this was coming from a gay man mind you – was why? Why should the ILO or anyone else care about what a worker does on their own time?

The implication is that what one does in the bedroom — one’s personal sexual behavior — should stay private. There is really no reason for these matters to come up at work. Continue reading →

On the Road to Ending HIV

Posted on 20 March 2015 by ILO Blog

Alice Ouedraogo is Chief of the HIV/AIDS Programme at the International Labour Organization

Heavy trucks pass through the Chirundu Corridor, one of the major routes connecting Zimbabwe and Zambia in southern Africa. This is a vital transport artery, important for the economies of both countries and their neighbors. It is also a major route for the transmission of HIV.

The mix of long-distance lorry drivers — who go weeks at a time without seeing their families — with widespread poverty existing along the corridor, results in sexual encounters between drivers and women. The risks they take with their health have an impact on the wider community.

Continue reading →