INTERRUPTING THE CYCLE

Only a few years ago, employers were still uncertain as to whether or not domestic violence was their concern. They felt an employee’s home life was personal and hesitated to become involved. Thank goodness the outlook of most employers has changed drastically. They now realize that domestic violence impacts not only the victim but other employees as well. Each year employers loose millions of dollars because of absenteeism caused by spousal abuse and domestic violence. No workplace is immune.

The media has done a fantastic job educating society on the subject of domestic violence. Often, the victim’s place of employment is the only place a victim can be found after leaving the home. Two thirds of the time the employer or other employees are also injured if the violence spills into the workplace. This greatly effects productivity and after such an incident many employers now pick up the tab for counseling

When domestic violence occurs, fear and anticipation of harm greatly affect a victim’s ability to perform normal everyday tasks. All those in the workplace – even into top management feel this fear. Co-workers fear for their lives because they work with the victim. They realize that if an abusive spouse decides to harm the victim that they could be seriously injured or even killed.

Fear affects our ability to do our job but the victim’s fear is horrifying. Family, friends and co-workers who have never experienced abuse or domestic violence, do not always understand this fear. Because of this, many women never report threats or abuse. She is often more afraid to leave an abusive relationship than she is to stay. Many domestic abusers threaten to “kill” their victims if they attempt to leave. More and more often they are doing just that.

Along with the fear of death the victim may fear the loss of her job as well as pressure from her employer or co-workers to leave the abuser. There are times she just fears the unknown. She doesn’t know how her employer will react to the knowledge that a threat may affect the workplace.

Today, thousands of employers across the country are creating an environment in which victims of domestic violence can report threats and abuse and feel secure in the fact that their job will not be in jeopardy. These companies feel they will be more successful in stopping domestic abuse if they know the types of risks they are facing before a violent incident occurs.

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