No to Violence Against Women
Nautilus International welcomed a renewed impetus by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) to end violence against women last month The ITF kicked off its latest anti-violence initiative with its ‘No to Violence Against Women’ Day on 25 November. The move is very much in line with Nautilus International’s work on the issues, prompted by thedeaths at sea of crew members Akhona Geveza and Rebecca Coriam.
Nautilus campaigning was instrumental in the submission and adoption last year of International Maritime Organisation (IMO) procedures for investigating shipboard crime amid growing public concern over the poor handling of many shipboard incidents – particularly with regard to missing British cruise worker Rebecca Coriam and South African cadet Akhona Geveza. Rebecca Coriam disappeared on the Bahamas-registered Disney Wonderoff the Mexican coast in March 2011, and Akhona Geveza died at sea in suspicious circumstances after falling overboard from the UK-flagged Safmarine Kariba in June 2010.
A successful motion about shipboard crime was raised by Jessica Tyson of the Nautilus International Women’s Advisory Forum (WAF) at the 2012 Women’s TUC conference (link goes to the April 2012 Nautilus Telegraph – see page 2).
The Union has also been involved in thedevelopment of an action guide being produced by the ITFfor publicationnext year which supports the annual ‘No To Violence Against Women’ Day.
Source: Nautilus International
Women seafarers make up only an estimated 2% of the world’s maritime workforce. They work mainly in the cruise and ferries sector, often for Flags of Convenience (FOC) vessels. These are among the worst paid and least protected of jobs at sea. Women also tend to be younger, and fewer are officers than their male crew mates.
For more information on women seafarers, click here
