Domestic Violence And Economic Independance

Domestic Violence and Economic Independence:

Women trying to rebuild their lives and become self-sufficient in the wake of domestic violence are dealing with multiple issues. The financial issues include high medical and legal bills, as well as rebuilding shattered credit and employment histories that have left many of them without sufficient financial resources. Coupled with the financial difficulties is the emotional and psychological fallout that deflates a women’s self-esteem, which can lead to even more instability in their lives.

Repeated studies show that at this crucial phase in a domestic violence survivor’s life, at a point when many women need not only the support and trust of family and friends, but of the community at large, they are often failed, and in fact, denied access to the vital rights and understanding that would make their transition to a more stable, safe and self-sufficient life a bit easier.

Often women are victimized after enduring domestic violence through employment discrimination and housing discrimination for no other reason than that they are victims. Even after a woman has left an abusive relationship, the batterer may come to the victim’s workplace, continue to make harassing phone calls, or contact co-workers. Being the victim of a crime is no reason for being fired, and when this does occur, many women have no legal recourse, as many states have no laws in place prohibiting discrimination against victims of domestic violence in employment or housing.

Losing employment due to domestic violence, even after leaving an abusive relationship reduces a victim’s ability to become self-sufficient, and affects all other areas of her life, in particular, shelter. In the United States, domestic violence is the primary cause of homelessness, and economic dependence is often cited as the primary reason why women remain in violent homes. When the police are called in a domestic violence situation, it can often lead to eviction for the tenants due to the landlord perceiving the situation as a “disruption” or “criminal activity”.

While public assistance is available to women after leaving abusive relationships, and has been called a “lifeline” for women after they get out of abusive relationships, recent welfare reform has threatened the available assistance for domestic violence survivors. Public assistance time limits also exist, as welfare isn’t a permanent solution to self-sufficiency. In their efforts to move towards self-sufficiency, many women do participate in self-help programs or go through job training, but these efforts are often sabotaged by abusers.

According to a study conducted of people receiving Aid to Families with Dependant Children (AFDC) benefits, “49 percent of the participants said their abusive boyfriends discouraged education or training efforts and 16 percent of the men actually prevented the women from obtaining education or training”. The study goes on to say that the methods of sabotage range from turning off alarm clocks to hiding books and clothing, or inflicting violence the night before a key exam or interview. Additionally, the study cites instances of stalking at classes, job training, and job sites. Post-traumatic stress disorder was also identified as a barrier in a women’s recovery process, finding that psychological scars resulting from years of violence, lead to difficulty with concentration and persistent fear and depression, and serve as barriers to successful education and employment.

Why This Matters to the Business Community:

• 74% of all employed battered women are harassed by their abusers at work, causing them to experience performance issues or job termination.
• 21% of full-time employed adults were victims of domestic violence
• Half of employers with 1,000 or more employees in the United States had an incident of workplace violence within the 12 months prior to completing a new survey on workplace violence prevention, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

On June 7, 2007 Verizon Wireless released the results of the first-ever “Father’s Day” poll of 1,020 American men, and found broad support for employer-based efforts to address domestic violence:

• 87% said employers should provide information for victims about how to get help
• 83% said employers should have policies in place to assist victims in getting help, including job security if they take leave to get help
• 77% said employers should provide training for supervisors/managers on supporting victims
• 72% said employers should provide information/resources with guidance on talking to kids about violence-free relationships.
• The poll also found that 61% of those surveyed thought employers should be doing more to address domestic violence.

Additionally:

• 75% of offenders used workplace resources at least once to express remorse or anger, check up on, pressure, or threaten the victim,
• 74% of perpetrators had easy access to their intimate partner's workplace, with 21% of offenders reporting that they contacted her at the workplace in violation of a no contact order.
• Forty-eight (48%) of offenders had difficulty concentrating at work, with 19% of offenders reporting a workplace accident or near miss from inattentiveness due to pre-occupation with their relationship,
• 42% of offenders were late to work. 70 domestic abuse offenders lost 15,221 hours of work time due to their domestic abuse arrests
• 68% of offenders said that domestic abuse posters and brochures in the workplace would help prevent domestic abuse from impacting the business. (Source: Maine Department of Labor and Family Crisis Services study released February 17, 2004.)
• 66% of corporate leaders say domestic violence is a major problem in today's society

• Employers face numerous human resource concerns, but with limited time and resources, are often unwilling or unable to focus on a problem until it becomes significant or costly.
• The annual national estimated value of lost productivity and earnings due to DV is estimated at between $3 and $5 billion in absenteeism, decreased productivity, healthcare and safety costs.
• DV victims lose nearly 8 million days of paid work each year, the equivalent of more than 32,000 full-time jobs.

• 96% experience problems at work due to abuse

• 74% are harassed while at work by their abuser

• 56% are late to work

• 28% leave work early

• 54% miss entire days of work

The high cost of domestic violence to businesses is not because of absenteeism alone.

"Working through the pain" simply means getting through the day despite headaches,

physical injuries, depression, and chronic anxiety; hardly the state of mind of a productive

employee. Phone calls from the abuser add to the stress. Additionally:

Between July and September 2005, CAEPV polled 1,200 full-time employed adults across the US in the first-ever national benchmarking telephone survey regarding domestic violence and its impact on the workplace. Among the major findings were that:

• 66% of those surveyed indicated they were not aware of their employer having a workplace domestic violence policy
• 44% of full-time employed adults surveyed personally experienced domestic violence's effect in their workplaces
• 21% of full-time employed adult respondents (men and women) identified themselves as victims of intimate partner violence
• 75% of offenders used workplace resources at least once to express remorse or anger, check up on, pressure, or threaten the victim,
• 74% of perpetrators had easy access to their intimate partner's workplace, with 21% of offenders reporting that they contacted her at the workplace in violation of a no contact order.
• Forty-eight (48%) of offenders had difficulty concentrating at work, with 19% of offenders reporting a workplace accident or near miss from inattentiveness due to pre-occupation with their relationship,
• 42% of offenders were late to work. 70 domestic abuse offenders lost 15,221 hours of work time due to their domestic abuse arrests
• 68% of offenders said that domestic abuse posters and brochures in the workplace would help prevent domestic abuse from impacting the business. (Source: Maine Department of Labor and Family Crisis Services study released February 17, 2004.)
• 66% of corporate leaders say domestic violence is a major problem in today's society

In 2001, Employers Against Domestic Violence (Boston, MA) conducted focus groups with convicted male domestic violence offenders, and asked them about the impact their behavior had on their workplaces. They found that abusers made costly and dangerous mistakes on the job as a result of perpetrating domestic violence, most abusers used company phones, e-mail, and vehicles in order to perpetrate domestic abuse, most abusers used paid work time in order to attend court for matters relating to their perpetration of domestic violence, most employers expressed support for the abuser (but few expressed concern for the victim), and 10% of employers posted bail for abusers or granted them paid leaves of absence for court dates related to domestic violence.

• Between ½ and ¼ of DV victims report that they have lost a job due to DV.
• Hiring/Firing batterers with criminal records comes with a host of business issues, including: legality of firing, harm to employees/clients, damage to company’s reputation, use of company time/resources for abuse, not taking action when knowledge of abuse is evident, employing both parties.
• The annual cost of healthcare services related to DV is $4.1 billion.
• Only 4 percent of all establishments train employees on domestic violence and its impact on the workplace.
• A study that examined 1997 - 2002 medical records of several groups of adult female patients of an HMO in Seattle found that women who are victims of physical or sexual domestic violence visit their doctors more often than other women. Annual health-care costs were significantly higher for the women who were victims of domestic violence. Their health-care costs averaged more than $5,000 per year, compared to about $3,400 for those in the second group.
• In 2000, 36 percent of rape and sexual assault victims lost more than 10 days of work after their victimization.
• A study conducted at a large health plan in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1994, found that an annual difference of $1,775 more was spent on abused women who utilized hospital services than on a random sample of general enrollees. The study concluded that early identification and treatment of victims and potential victims are most likely to benefit health care systems in the long run.
• The National Institute of Justice found that the aggregate annual cost to victims of domestic violence is about $8.8 billion, or $67 billion when pain,suffering, and lost quality of life is included.
• A study conducted at Rush Medical Center in Chicago found that the average charge for medical services provided to abused women, children and older people was $1,633 per person per year. This would amount to a national annual cost of $857.3 million.

Picking up the slack

Loss of productivity is not limited to the victim's work performance. Fellow employees

often take up the slack of work DV victims are not performing.

"While they may be initially willing to pitch in to help a victim who cannot function normally or even show up to work, over time that willingness changes to resentment," says Ann Solis, a former HR director for a multinational marketing company. In addition, "Fellow employees themselves experience distraction at work, both due to fear for the abuse victim and for their own safety. Their productivity suffers too." Considering that 74% of domestic violence victims are harassed at work, it's a reasonable fear.