Two-thirds of Australian women who report violence by a current partner are in paid employment. For these women, there’s many stresses and responsibilities that come from experiencing violence or abuse. And they don’t take place outside of work hours.
As Elizabeth Broderick, Sex Discrimination Commissioner and Commissioner responsible for Age Discrimination, points out:
Most of us are well aware of the barriers that still exist to women’s participation in paid work – women’s caring responsibilities, the shortage of affordable and accessible childcare, the lack of flexible work conditions – easily recognisable forms of gender based discrimination.
But as a community and as employers we are less familiar with ways in which domestic and family violence affects a women’s ability to stay in the paid workforce.
A story
The day I broke up was the day I went to the refuge. He rang me at work and said ‘Do you want to get the sack because I’m going to tell them what you are really like’.
I went to see my boss and said I was too scared to go home.
She put me onto the counsellor at the hospital who put me in touch with the single women’s refuge and I moved straight there. My boss was really good. They are very supportive as far as domestic violence goes, because there are a lot of single women in the hospital. I didn’t take anytime off because I wouldn’t get paid.
Looking back now I should have had a week off. But I had a lot of bills to pay so couldn’t take time off.
This story is from a casual clerical worker in a large hospital [1]
Work performance
A woman’s work performance will be affected by the stress of her home life.
She may be unable to reach deadlines, she may feel too emotional to deal with usual customer service. She may break down in the workplace and be too distressed to fulfil her duties. She may start being regularly late or making excessive personal phone calls.
Appointments
Women experiencing domestic violence may have to organise and attend legal and other appointments in work hours.
She might have to:
- attend court on a number of occasions to obtain an Intervention Order to get civil protection from an abusive partner.
- see a mediator as part of a separation process
- call or meet with support services
- get counselling over the phone or face to face, or
- meet teachers at her children’s school to discuss behavioural issues that might develop. Children living in homes where domestic violence is prevalent will be seriously affected.
Health issues
The woman may have marks and bruises that are noticeable and might feel too ashamed to attend work and attract attention.
Accommodation
The woman may have to move accomodation at short notice and might be relocated at a distance from her work.
Issues of safety are paramount. Statistics show that the time of separation is the most dangerous time for a woman in terms of partner retribution, and she could be very vulnerable in the workplace as her partner will know her location.
Disruptions and absences risk her job
American research has found that between 50% and 74% of employed women experiencing domestic violence are harassed by their partners while they are at work, physically or by phone.[2]
Violent partners may control a woman’s participation in paid work. A woman may leave paid work because of threats.
Or, her absences from the workplace due to violence may place her employment at risk.
How does it impact on managers and supervisors?
For many employers, domestic violence is an intensely private issue.
Managers and supervisors may have to deal with:
- an employee telling them about the violence in their relationship
- an employee’s performance deteriorating and performance management being put in place, without knowing of the underlying cause.
- an employee’s partner coming to the workplace and using threatening behaviour
- an employee’s partner calling or emailing the employee in an abusive way at work
Surf Coast local government introduces leave: first in Victoria
The Australian Services Union is leading the way in negotiating with management and employees for the inclusion of a Family Violence clause into enterprise bargaining agreements.
In September 2010, Victoria’s Surf Coast Shire local government incorporated the clause into their recent EBA . Staff now have up to 20 days extra paid leave for family violence reasons.
As Elizabeth Broderick says, this leave:
recognises the fact that anyone who experiences domestic or family violence needs the support of their workplace to recover, to settle, to organise children, to attend doctor’s appointments, court dates and so on.
Making this understanding and support explicit means that those who need it won’t have to struggle to take it.
Like sick leave and carer’s leave before them, we will always hope they are rarely needed, but the development of these workplace entitlements will allow all employees to balance their work life with particularly stressful and difficult parts of their personal life.
Education sector to follow
The Australian Education union has also included the clause in their new log of claims for school teachers, principals and education support staff, and unions throughout Australia are being briefed on the impact of family violence on workplace productivity.
Training for management
The Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse has been working with unions to develop training for managers and supervisors, with input from trainers here at the Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria.
The training will give general understanding of domestic violence.
Managers and supervisors will learn how to respond to disclosure from a worker and other situations:
- what to say in conversation with workers
- confidentiality
- performance management issues
- what other specific things will they learn?
Evidence from the employee about their situation
For example, situations that can occur for managers will be noted performance deterioration which might lead to performance management.
If the woman shows evidence of domestic violence occurring in her life, the performance management process can be stopped and appropriate support provided to the woman through the workplace clause.
Evidence of domestic violence includes:
- police involvement
- application for an intervention order
- appointments with a domestic violence support service, or
- a doctor’s report.
Family violence and worker productivity
American research suggests that 10% of the workforce have experienced violence from their partner within the past 12 months.
Access Economics estimates the total costs of lost productivity associated with family violence was $484 million in 2002/2003.
Intimate partner violence leading health risk to Victorian women 15-44
Women will be provided with the support required to address the frightening statistic that intimate partner violence is the leading contributor to death, disability and illness in Victorian women aged 15-44, and more responsible for illness in women than the accepted risk-factors such as high blood pressure, smoking and obesity.
Related links
- Domestic Violence: a workplace issue factsheet
- Australian Services Union
- Elizabeth Broderick’s speech to Forum on domestic violence clauses in enterprise agreements: April 2010
- How does domestic violence affect the workplace? Employers Against Domestic Violence (USA)
Image credit
Photo from Flickr by David Boyle 
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