The Ecuadorian business sector makes a difference in the fight against violence against women!

In an effort to create a safer and more equal environment, the business sector is taking action against this deep-rooted problem in our societies.

According to INEC’s 2019 National Survey on Gender Violence against Women, approximately 7 out of 10 women in Ecuador have faced some type of violence during their lives. It is time to change this reality! We know that this issue impacts not only the quality of life of individuals, but also companies, institutions, and the country as a whole.

The study “The business costs of violence against women (VAW) in Ecuador” (USMP, PreViMujer/GIZ 2018) demonstrates that violence against women in intimate partner relationships causes productivity losses of almost 1.8 billion USD per year for large and medium-sized Ecuadorian companies.

Faced with this serious problem, the Prevention of Violence against Women (PreViMujer) programme, implemented by the German Cooperation (GIZ), has launched a series of certified online courses for entities of different sectors that want to create gender-based violence-free spaces in Ecuador. The online course “Safe Company, Leader in Zero Tolerance towards Violence against Women” is one of them and its audience is the business sector. Companies that are committed to the cause can participate and be certified upon successful completion of the course.

What do companies gain from this program?

Employees will learn in a dynamic and autodidactic way about the different forms of violence against women, the course dismantling the roles and myths that perpetuate this violence and detailing the impacts and costs for companies. But that’s not all! Employees will also learn about the legal framework how to take concrete action when witnessing cases of violence against women.

The main objective

is to deconstruct the normalization of violence against women on a social level and create safe spaces in the Ecuadorian workplace.

How does the training course work?

The online training program enables employees in companies that are committed to change to be trained in VAW topics. Additionally, on-site workshops are also offered. The online course consists of 25 modules, of which 10 are interactive exercises for reflection, repetition, and evaluation. The modules are immediately graded, encouraging participants to keep on learning.

To foster motivation, different areas of a company can compete between each other regarding their progress: Human recourses against accountability against management – who will reach full score first? And because attitude change doesn’t only take place at work, the course encourages participants to apply and disseminate the acquired knowledge outside the work environment.

Participants receive a certificate upon achieving a total score of 90%, while companies are awarded a plaque stating the number of employees who have successfully completed the course.

To date, more than 30 Ecuadorian companies have already adopted this course as an integral part of their training for more than 16,000 committed employees. But the change does not stop here: since 2022, the Ministry of Labor has embraced this program, expanding its scope so that even more companies join the cause and act on the prevention of VAW.

The certification and training in this area not only improves the working environment and image of companies, but also enriches their employees’ knowledge and perspectives on this important issue. Every person who participates will make a difference!

Contact Details