Domestic Violence Effects in the Workplace

Homicide is by far the most frequent manner in which women workers are fatally injured at work.  A recent U.S. Department of Labor study showed that in 17% of these homicides, the alleged assailants were current or former husbands or boyfriends (1).

In a 1994 survey of senior executives of Fortune 1,000 companies, 66 percent of the respondents believed that a company’s financial performance would benefit from addressing the issue of domestic violence among its employees (2).

In the same survey, significant numbers of respondents said domestic violence has a harmful effect on their company’s productivity (49%), attendance (47%), and increases insurance and medical costs (44%).  Eighty percent of respondents said that domestic violence affects employees from all walks of life (3).

In a New York study of 50 battered women, 75% said they had been harassed by the batterer while they were at work, 50% reported missing an average of 3 days per month, and 44% lost at least 1 job for reasons directly related to the abuse (4).                                                                      

References:
1.  U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, Domestic Violence: A Workplace Issue, in Facts on Working Women, No. 96-3, October, 1996, citing “Fatal Workplace Injuries in 1994: A Collection of Data and Analysis,” Report 908, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, July 1996.

2.  Women’s Work Program, Liz Claiborne, Inc., Survey conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide New  York, Liz Claiborne, Inc., July18-August 5, 1994.

3.  Ibid.

4.  Friedman, Lucy, and Cooper, Sarah, The Cost of Domestic Violence, New York, Victim Services       Research Department, 1987.

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Contact Information:
Manitowoc County Domestic Violence Center
1127 S. 22nd. St,   Manitowoc, WI  54220     
Crisis Line: 920-684-5770 or 1-877-275-6888
Business: 920-684-4661    Fax: 920-684-6344