Workplace violence and gender bias in unorganized fisheries of Udupi, India

Fisheries industry in India is an unorganized sector of occupation where considerable proportion of workers is female. However, the prevalent gender inequality in terms of task allocation, wages, and other welfare facilities makes the men as dominant workforce. Furthermore, there are occasions when incidents of workplace violence take place. The present study was conducted to find the prevalence of workplace violence at worksite and study gender bias in such events. In a cross-sectional study 171 fishermen and fisherwomen were interviewed to collect information about workplace violence. The overall prevalence of workplace violence reported was 14.6%. This included 2 (8%) cases of physical assault, 1 (4%) case of sexual harassment of fisherwoman by her colleague and 22 (88%) cases of verbal abuse. A significant (p=0.002) association was found between gender and verbal abuse at the workplace. In conclusion, this study highlighted the occurrence of workplace violence among fishery workers in India. There was a gender bias towards females that can be attributed to male dominance in this occupation.