Download 7 Reasons Employers Should Address Domestic Violence

BottomLine
on domestic violence
CORPORATE VOICE
Volume 1, Issue 2
Mark D. Landreth,
CAE, DPL
Chief Executive Officer
Florida Association of
Professional Lobbyists
What role does an organization’s CEO
and/or Senior Management have in educating employees about domestic violence?
It is incumbent on leaders to ensure
the safety of their team members at
their workplace and recognize that domestic violence certainly does not stop
simply because an employee leaves their
home to go to work. CEOs and senior
managers should be able to recognize
potential signs that one of their workers may be experiencing domestic violence or perpetrating that violence. The
last issue of The BottomLine provided
an excellent resource for managers in
recognizing an employee who may be
experiencing domestic violence, this issue provides information on behaviors
an abuser may exhibit. Additionally,
managers at all levels need to foster an
atmosphere in the workplace where
their staff knows if they are experiencing
domestic violence they will be supported. It is important for businesses as well
to be very clear that domestic violence
will not be tolerated. Abusers, and only
abusers, are responsible for their behavior; businesses must recognize this
and hold the abuser accountable within
their workplace policies and procedures.
Domestic violence is not just wrong, it’s
a crime.
Have co-workers ever disclosed that they
have experienced domestic violence and
did you know how to assist and/or where
to refer them?
This has not happened to me. However,
(continued on page 2)
BOTTOMLINE ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE •
7 Reasons Employers Should Address Domestic Violence
Employers face numerous human
resource concerns, with limited time
and money. Often a decision to focus on
a specific problem is not made until the
problem becomes significant and costly.
Historically, problems with a social stigma are less likely to receive attention,
as both employers and employees may
be reluctant to acknowledge that these
problems exist.
Domestic violence was a hidden
concern that did not show up on the
public’s radar screen until relatively recently. Some employers are addressing it,
but many more are not. The following are
seven compelling reasons that employers
should take action on this issue.
Reason 1. Domestic violence affects
many employees.
Nearly one-third of American women
(31 percent) report being physically or
sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives.1
More than one million people report
a violent assault by an intimate partner
every year in the U.S.2
At least one million women and
371,000 men are victims of stalking in
the U.S. each year. Stalkers often follow
the victim to the workplace.3
Reason 2. Domestic violence is a
security and liability concern.
Ninety-four percent of corporate security directors surveyed rank domestic
violence as a high security problem at
their company.4
Employers who fail to protect their
employees from violence at work may be
liable. Jury awards for inadequate security suits average $1.2 million nationwide
and settlements average $600,000.5
In the case of La Rose v. State Mutual
Life Assurance Co., Francesia La Rose’s
family filed a wrongful-death action
www.fcadv.org
against her employer when she was murdered by a former boyfriend at the work
site. The employer paid a settlement of
$850,000 for failing to protect her after
being notified of a specific threat.6
Reason 3. Domestic violence is a
performance and productivity concern.
In one study of batterers, 41 percent
had job performance problems and 48 percent had difficulty concentrating on the
job as a result of their abusive behaviors.7
Thirty-seven percent of women who experienced domestic violence reported that
the abuse had an impact on their work in
the form of lateness, missed work, keeping a job, or career promotions.8
The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention estimates that the annual
cost of lost productivity due to domestic violence equals $727.8 million, with
more than 7.9 million paid workdays lost
each year.9
Reason 4. Domestic violence is a health
care concern.
The national health care costs of domestic violence are high, with direct medical and mental health care services for
victims amounting to nearly $4.1 billion.10
Among women admitted to an emergency room for violence-related injuries,
37 percent were abused by an intimate
(continued on page 2)
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DID YOU KNOW?
7 Reasons
partner.11
In a study on the effects of violence,
women who experienced any type of
violence or abuse were significantly more
likely to report being in “fair or poor”
health, and were almost twice as likely to
be coping with some form of depression.12
Fast Facts About Domestic Violence
• A woman is battered every 15 seconds in the United States.
• Nearly 33% of women killed in the workplace between 2003-2008 were
killed by a current or former intimate partner.
• Homicide was the second leading cause of death on the job for women in
2000.
• A study of domestic violence survivors found that 74% percent of employed battered women were harassed by their partner while they were at
work.
• According to a 2006 study from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly
one in four large (more than 1,000 employees) private business reported at
least one incidence of domestic violence in the past year.
• Approximately 37% of women seeking injury-related treatment in hospital
emergency rooms were there as a result of injuries inflicted by a current or
former spouse or partner.
Corporate Voice
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continued from page 1
I hope everyone would know, in the
short term, to connect the victim with
the Florida Domestic Violence Hotline
or one of the state’s certified domestic violence centers and, if safety is an
immediate issue, with local law
enforcement.
domestic violence does occur every day
in every community - victims and perpetrators come from every walk of life.
Regularly receiving information about
domestic violence in general and specifically about domestic violence in the
workplace would be helpful.
What type of information would be
helpful for your organization’s decision
makers in adopting best practices to address domestic violence in the workplace?
Domestic violence is an issue that
people tend to want to stick their heads
in the sand and completely ignore.
They believe this couldn’t or wouldn’t
happen in my workplace or among my
peers. Yet we know the truth is that
*The Florida Association of Professional Lobbyists is FCADV’s primary partner
in the Opening Clothes Doors annual
clothes drive. For the past five years, they
have been instrumental in collecting gently worn business attire and accessories
for distribution to Florida’s certified domestic violence centers.
continued from page 1
Reason 5. Domestic violence is a
management issue.
In a 2002 survey of senior corporate
executives, 91 percent said that domestic violence affects both the private and
working lives of their employees.13
In addition, more than half (56 percent) of those surveyed were aware of
employees who have been affected by
domestic violence.14
In a 1994 survey, 66 percent of executives said their companies’ financial
performance would benefit from addressing the issue of domestic violence
among their employees.15
Reason 6. Taking action in response
to domestic violence works.
After participating in domestic violence training at a factory, the rate of
employees asking for workplace counseling services for domestic abuse
problems was 14 times what it had
been prior to the training.16
When a sample group of 40 abused
employees at the factory began using
the domestic abuse counseling services, their average absence rate was higher than the factory’s average absence
rate. After using counseling services,
the abused employees reduced their absenteeism rates to normal.17
Reason 7. Employers can make
a difference.
Numerous corporations, government agencies and domestic violence
experts are already addressing domestic violence, with great success. You can
make a difference in your workplace
and in the lives of employees who are
facing abuse!
Reprinted from Futures Without Violence, complete article with footnotes is
available at: http://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/section/our_work/employers_and_employees
www.fcadv.org • BOTTOMLINE ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Corporate Spotlight
The Verizon
Foundation
The Verizon Foundation
is more than just the philanthropic arm of Verizon
Communications. It is an
aspect of the corporate culture
instilled by the leadership of
Verizon Communications and
is pivotal to who and what they
are as an organization.
The purpose of the Foundation is to have a philanthropic
strategy with an emphasis on
programs that demonstrate
real value for communities
through the use of technology.
It stands to reason that this
organization, which has
become synonymous with the
cutting edge of telecommunications, would be spreading
the word on changing lives
throughout the communities
we live. Nowhere is that more
clear than in the Foundation’s
commitment to stopping
domestic violence.
Since the Foundation’s
inception in 2005, one of the
primary areas of attention
has been to play a pivotal role
as a partner in the mission of
ending domestic violence. The
Foundation has teamed with
both national and local organizations such as the National
Network to End Domestic
Violence, Corporate Alliance
to End Partner Violence,
the Joe Torre Safe at Home
Foundation and the Florida
Coalition Against Domestic
Violence, just to name a few.
The Foundation recognized
the need to get involved based
on the statistics surrounding
domestic violence – that a
woman is battered every 15
seconds in the United States,
that one in four women are
beaten or raped by an intimate
partner during adulthood, and
that three woman are killed by
a current or former intimate
partner every day – a statistic
that became a reality for one of
their employees.
While the painful statistics
tell a story, the horror of domestic violence came through
the doors of Verizon when one
of their own employees was
murdered at the hands of her
husband. The event sparked
a call to action and was the
driving force behind the documentary “Telling Amy’s Story”
(which we will discuss later
in this article). The statistics
of domestic violence were no
more stark, but the impact
it had on the Verizon family
was deep and the shock waves
it sent throughout the entire
company took the organization
to an even higher level of commitment, focus, and dedication
to work toward ending domestic violence.
Verizon’s Hopeline
program collects no-longer
used wireless phones, batteries
and accessories in any condition from any service provider
and donates to them. This has
BOTTOMLINE ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE •
www.fcadv.org
resulted in more than 106,000
donated phones for those who
need a safer way to call for
help.
And Amy’s story… “Telling
Amy’s Story” is a compelling
documentary about a mother
of two who was shot and killed
by her husband. Amy was the
Verizon employee mentioned
previously. The Verizon-funded film is used as a training tool
by communities, nonprofits and
universities. No less than 333
public television stations nationwide aired “Telling Amy’s
Story” and it has been viewed
more than 42,000 times online,
both in the United States and
in more than 100 countries,
further spreading the message
of this compelling story.
Verizon‘s commitment to
ending domestic violence is
additionally evidenced through
their grant programs, having
awarded more than $10 million
in grants to domestic violence
agencies nationwide, and they
continue to be an active and
visible partner on a nationwide
basis during Domestic Violence
Awareness Month in October.
Rose Stuckey Kirk, President
of the Verizon Foundation
says it best, “Effective and
successful companies deliver
shareholder value and use their
assets to solve the critical societal issues facing the world.”
“At the Verizon
Foundation, we
empower others
to live independent, safe and
healthy lives by
helping them
with real issues
and disparities.”
- Rose Stuckey Kirk
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HELPFUL TOOLS
Recognizing An Abuser
An abuser may be found from entry
level to executive staff. Although there
may be other causes, an employee who
is an abuser may behave in the following ways:
• Be “invisible” due to exemplary job
performance.
• May display outbursts of anger toward partner and/or others.
• Blame others for problems, especially his partner.
• Request special accommodations
such as permission to leave early or
take emergency leave.
• Have frequent absences or lateness
to work.*
• Make frequent calls or emails to
partner.*
• Have a changed appearance, for example, from neat to disheveled.*
• When speaking with others, there may
be frequent and assertive allegations of
abuse toward a partner or child.
• Give his partner threatening or intimidating looks that cause a victim
to look at the abuser before speaking because she is frightened or intimidated.
• Answer questions directed toward
his partner.
• Is often very loud or speaks in a
condescending manner to others.
• Often speaks in a demeaning manner to the victim or about the victim to others.
*Domestic violence victims/survivors
may exhibit these behaviors as well in reaction to the battering.
The Lethality of Abusers
All abusers are potentially dangerous. The following behaviors are indicators, not predictors, for life-threatening
acts of violence:
• Threats of violence, including homicide or suicide.
• Access to weapons. If an abuser has
possession of a weapon, has threatened or used a weapon in the past
during an assault, the potential for
lethal assault is increased. The use
of guns to threaten or assault is
a strong predictor of homicide. If
an abuser has a history of arson or
threat of arson, fire should be considered a potential weapon.
• Ownership of the partner. An abuser
who believes that he is entitled to
his partner’s services, obedience and
loyalty is life-endangering.
• Centrality of the partner. A man
who idolizes his female partner, or
who depends heavily on her to organize and sustain his life, or who has
isolated himself from all other community ties may retaliate against
a partner if she decides to end the
relationship.
• Separation from the partner. When
an abuser believes that he is about to
lose his partner, if he can’t envision
life without her or if the separation
causes great despair or rage, he may
choose to kill her.
• Escalation of risk by the abuser.
When the abuser begins to act
without regard to the legal or social
consequences, the risk for violence
is increased.
(Information adapted from: Domestic Violence in the Workplace A Guide for Employers,
a project of the Alabama Coalition Against
Domestic Violence and Verizon Wireless,www.
acadv.org)
FCADV serves as the professional
association for Florida’s 42 certified
domestic violence centers and is the primary
representative of survivors and their children
in the public policy arena. The Coalition
works to end violence by providing leadership, advocacy, education, training, technical
assistance, public policy development, public
awareness and support to certified domestic
violence centers in Florida.
Sponsored by FCADV and the State of Florida, Department of Children and Families.
Florida’s Certified Domestic Violence Centers
Abuse Counseling
and Treatment, Inc.
Aid to Victims of
Domestic Abuse, Inc.
Another Way, Inc.
CASA-Community
Action Stops Abuse
Center for Abuse and
Rape Emergencies, Inc.
Citrus County Abuse
Shelter Association
Dawn Center of
Hernando County
Domestic Abuse
Council, Inc.
Domestic Abuse
Shelter, Inc.
Family Life Center
Favor House of
Northwest Florida, Inc.
Harbor House, Inc.
Haven of Lake and Sumter Counties, Inc.
Ocala Domestic
Violence/Sexual
Assault Center
Salvation Army Brevard
County Domestic
Violence Program
Peace River Domestic
Violence Center
Salvation Army
Domestic Violence and
Rape Crisis Program
of Panama City
Peaceful Paths
Help Now of Osceola
County, Inc.
Quigley House, Inc.
Hope Family
Services, Inc.
Safehouse of Seminole
County
Hubbard House, Inc.
Safe Place and Rape
Crisis Center
Lee Conlee House
Martha’s House, Inc.
Miami-Dade
Advocates for Victims
Micah’s Place
Remember: Help Is Here!
Refuge House, Inc.
Salvation Army
Domestic Violence Program of West
Pasco County
Serene Harbor, Inc.
SafeSpace, Inc.
Shelter for Abused
Women & Children, Inc.
Safety Shelter of St.
John’s County (Betty Griffin House)
Sunrise of Pasco
County, Inc.
Shelter House, Inc.
The Haven of R.C.S.
The Spring of Tampa
Bay, Inc.
Victim Response, Inc.(The
Lodge)
Vivid Visions
Women in Distress of
Broward County
YWCA of Palm Beach
County (Harmony House
Program)
Florida
Domestic Violence Hotline • 1-800-500-1119
• 24 hours a day/7 days a week
www.fcadv.org • BOTTOMLINE ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
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