How does Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse impact you the employer?

Between 2003 and 2008, 142 women were murdered in their workplace by their abuser, 78% of women killed in the workplace during this timeframe.
Between 94-99% of domestic violence survivors have also experienced economic abuse.
Victims of intimate partner violence lose a total of 8.0 million days of paid work each year.
Between 21-60% of victims of domestic violence lose their jobs due to reasons stemming from the abuse.
Between 2005 and 2006, 130,000 stalking victims were asked to leave their jobs as a result of their victimization.

Great information to consider:

From Workplace Fairness

Domestic violence -- mental or physical abuse at the hands of an intimate partner -- often affects the victims' ability to work. One in four women and one in 10 men will experience domestic violence in their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to Legal Momentum, an advocacy group victims of domestic violence lose an average of 137 hours of work a year. Intimate partner violence causes victims to lose the equivalent of 32,000 full-time jobs each year. Some victims need time off from work to seek medical attention, a restraining order, or a safe place to stay. Others can't get to work when an abuser disables their car, sabotages childcare arrangements, or leaves them without cash for public transportation. For more information about domestic violence and the workplace see the FAQ’s below.

http://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/userfiles/file/Children_and_Families/Workplace.pdf

Domestic violence doesn't stay home when its victims go to work. It can follow them, resulting in violence in the workplace. Or it can spill over into the workplace when a woman is harassed by threatening phone calls, absent because of injuries or less productive from extreme stress. With nearly one-third of American women (31 percent) reporting being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives,i it is a certainty that in any mid-to-large sized company, domestic violence is affecting employees. It is crucial that domestic abuse be seen as a serious, recognizable, and preventable problem like thousands of other workplace health and safety issues that affect a business and its bottom line.

Prevalence:

• A study of domestic violence survivors found that 74 percent of employed battered women were harassed by their partner while they were at work.ii

• Between 1993 and 1999 in the United States, an average of 1.7 million violent victimizations per year were committed against persons age twelve or over who were at work or on duty.iii
• Homicide was the second leading cause of death on the job for women in 2000.iv

• More than 29,000 acts of rape or sexual assault are perpetrated against women at work each year.v

• More than 1 million women are stalked each year in the U.S., and over a quarter of them report missing work as a result of the stalking.vi

• Of the 4 million workplace crime incidents committed against females from 1993 through 1999, only 40 percent were reported to the police.vii
• In a 1997 national survey, 24 percent of women between the ages of 18 and 65 who had experienced domestic violence said that the abuse caused them to arrive late at work or miss days of work.viii

Employer’s Perspectives:

• Business leaders agree that domestic violence is a problem that affects their workplaces: 57 percent of senior corporate executives believe domestic violence is a major problem in society. One-third of them think this problem has a negative impact on their bottom lines, and 40 percent said they were personally aware of employees and other individuals affected by domestic violence. Sixty-six percent believe their company's financial performance would benefit from addressing the issue of domestic violence among their employees.ix

Resource Links:

Safety Plan Check List

DV & Drug Addiction

Resources for Survivors

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