MEXICO Trends and Developments Contributed by: Regina De la Vega Castillo and Areli Ramírez, De la Vega & Martínez Rojas S.C.
De la Vega & Martinez Rojas S.C. Guillermo Gonzalez Camarena #1100 Piso 7 Santa Fe Álvaro Obregón Ciudad de México CP 01210 Mexico Tel: +52 55 4163 2100 Email: contacto@dlvmr.com.mx Web: www.dlvmr.com.mx
Workplace Violence in Mexico: Prevention, Internal Investigations, and Comprehensive Risk
tier organisational actor, now playing a central role in the prevention, management, and eradication of workplace violence in Mexico. With the aim of preventing, eradicating, and sanction - ing workplace violence, Mexico has ratified various international instruments, including the Inter-Ameri - can Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women ( Convention of Belém do Pará ), which for the first time defined violence against women as “any action or conduct, based on gender, that causes death or physical, sex - ual, or psychological harm or suffering, whether in the public or private sphere.” This international standard has directly influenced labour regulations, the conduct of authorities, and judicial interpretation in Mexico. Workplace violence and NOM-035 At the domestic level, NOM-035 regulates psychoso - cial risk factors, defined as those that may cause anxi - ety disorders, sleep–wake cycle disturbances, severe stress, or adaptation disorders, among others, arising from exposure to severe traumatic events or acts of workplace violence. The Standard itself defines workplace violence as “acts of harassment, bullying, or mistreatment against an employee that may damage their integrity or health,” and classifies it into three main categories: • workplace harassment or psychological harass - ment, consisting of systematic and persistent
Management Introduction
Workplace violence and discrimination in Mexico are not new phenomena; however, for many years they were normalised and minimised within the work envi- ronment. Today, both in Mexico and globally, the land - scape has changed significantly: these behaviours are increasingly visible, explicitly identified, investigated, and, with growing clarity, unequivocally rejected. Workplace violence in Mexico has historically consti - tuted a psychosocial risk factor embedded in employ - ment relationships. However, following the enactment of Official Mexican Standard NOM-035-STPS-2018 (NOM-035) on Psychosocial Risk Factors in the Work - place, the ratification of international conventions such as International Labour Organization Conven - tion No 190, as well as the issuance of the Protocol for the Prevention, Response to, and Investigation of Workplace Violence and the Protocol for Conducting Labor Inspections with a Gender Perspective, this phenomenon has attained unprecedented visibility. In many cases, the reputational impact arising from workplace violence incidents has prompted compa - nies to adopt comprehensive and proactive measures to safeguard the human right to a favourable organi - sational environment, gender equality, dignified work, and transparency and confidentiality within internal reporting channels. Collectively, these developments have consolidated the HR function as a strategic, first-
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