In honor of Domestic Violence
Awareness Month, there will be weekly editions of Avalon's
"Quick News to Use" e-newsletter.
In Week 3, we look at the seriousness of domestic
violence in the workplace. Your co-worker may be a victim
of abuse. Would you know how to help her develop a safety
plan? An abusive partner could show up at a
victim's workplace; intimate partner violence
may affect many more people than just the individual
being abused. Business owners, have you given thought as
to how you are being impacted? You may be surprised by
the economic costs of domestic violence and sexual
assault.
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Domestic violence doesn't stay
home when the victim goes to work. With 1 in 3 women
reporting abuse at some time in their lives, domestic
violence is likely to affect almost every workplace. And
when 1 in 12 women and 1 in 45
men will be stalked in their lifetime, the
possibility of an abuser coming to a victim's place of
employment becomes more reality.
Impacting Job
Performance
- 37% of women who
experienced intimate partner violence reported that it had
an impact on their work performance in the form of lateness,
missed work, holding a job or being promoted
- victims of domestic violence lost
almost 8 million days of paid work because
of the violence perpetrated against them. This loss
is equivalent to more than 32,000 full-time
jobs and almost 5.6 million days of
household productivity.
- an employed woman with an unemployed
partner is more than twice as likely to be
psychologically abused
- women who earn 65% or
more of their households' income are more likely to
be psychologically abused
-
victims of psychological
abuse are more likely to experience difficulty
concentrating, poor work or school performance, poor
physical health, and higher likelihood of illegal drug and
alcohol use
Impacting the
Job Site
-
homicide is the
leading cause of death for women on the
job
-
17% of
those women were murdered at their workplace by their
partner
-
More than 1
million women are stalked each year in the U.S..
One quarter of them report missing work because of
it
-
74% of
employed battered women are harassed at work by a
current/former partner
-
81% of
women stalked by a current or former partner are also
physically assaulted; 31% are sexually
assaulted by that partner
-
76% of
female homicide victims had been stalked by the person who
killed them
Impacting the
Economy
-
the average cost of one
physical assault by an intimate partner is
$816. Applied to Virginia statistics, this
amounts to $35,574,336 annually for
survivors of intimate partner violence in the
Commonwealth
-
the average cost of one
sexual assault is $1,672. Applied to
Virginia statistics, this equals
$50,424,176 annually for survivors of
sexual assault in the
Commonwealth
Note: Services included
in cost estimates are for direct treatment of the violence and
do not include costs related to long term effects such as
depression, alcohol/drug abuse, other mental health disorders,
etc. Cost estimates also do not include those costs associated
with law enforcement, justice system, cost for victim
services, or lost productivity at work
- nationwide, the cost of intimate
partner violence exceeds $5.8 billion each
year
- annually, there are $2.2
million dollars worth of medically treated injuries
due to domestic violence
- victims lost almost 8
million days of paid work because of the violence
perpetrated against them. This is equal to 32,000
full-time jobs and almost 5.6 million days
of household productivity
- dollar-wise, the Bureau of National
Affairs estimates workplace losses at 3-5
billion annually
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Help is Available
Locally
Avalon's 24-hour Helpline (757)
258-5051
servicios en
espanol
Additional
Resources
national nonprofit organization dedicated to
reducing the costs and consequences of partner violence at
work
Domestic Abuse
Project
suggestions for community members/business
leaders who want to promote peaceful, equitable
relationships
Peace at
Work
workplace assaults research study to reveal
trends and factors leading to the crime
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October 23, 2007
* 11:30 am
 James T. Reese, "an internationally recognized author,
lecturer, and consultant in the areas of stress management
training, motivation, threat and risk assessments, and
workplace violence" will be speaking at a special engagement
hosted by the Historic Triangle Business
Professional Women. Tickets
are $30/pp in advance, $45/pp at the door. For more information or to RSVP
contact Gayle at
757-870-1913. | |
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Avalon Administrative
Office
P.O. Box 1079
Williamsburg, VA
23187
(757)
258-5022 | |
Avalon Outreach
Office
312 Waller Mill Road, Suite 300
Williamsburg, VA 23185
(757)
258-9362 | | |
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