Workplace Responses

Many people in Australia are aware of the issue of violence against women and children, but did you know that what happens in the workplace can have an impact on this?
Current data suggests that two-thirds of women who are experiencing violence from a current partner are employed. Many of these women are experiencing this silently, fearful that disclosing the violence to their employer could risk their job which may further increase their risk and make them financially reliant on their abuser.

People who use violence often try to gain power and control through isolating victim/survivors from their support networks, which often includes their workplace.

The impact of this is that victim/survivors often feel they have no one to turn to for support and are therefore reliant on the person using violence.

By creating a safe and understanding workplace where women feel that they will be believed and supported, women can maintain employment and financial independence, increasing their safety and security.

A workplace that says ‘no to violence’ listens to victim/survivors and asks, ‘how can we support you?’, therefor combatting attempts from the person using violence to isolate them. Not only does this work to create positive societal change, it also addresses other workplace impacts of domestic and family violence such as productivity, staff turnover rates and workplace culture. Creating a safe workplace for employees to seek help doesn’t just increase the safety for women and children, it also provides the opportunity for those who are using violence to ask for help to change their behaviour.

Whilst ‘getting rid of the problem’ by firing someone who uses violence might seem like the easiest option, it actually increases risk to the victim survivor and negatively impacts on businesses.