Women's safety is a critical issue that comes into all aspects of life, including the workplace. According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 3 women worldwide experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Employers have a crucial role in creating safe spaces where women can feel secure and supported. Here are four ways employers can help protect women's safety.
Women's safety is a critical issue that comes into all aspects of life, including the workplace. According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 3 women worldwide experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Whilst nearly 1 in 4 women in the U.S. face severe physical violence by an intimate partner, and 1 in 5 women in the UK have been victims of stalking. These alarming statistics highlight the urgency of addressing women's safety in all environments, including their place of work. Employers have a crucial role in creating safe spaces where women can feel secure and supported. Here are four ways employers can help protect women's safety.
Develop Comprehensive Company Policies
Employers can take a proactive stance by developing company policies that address harassment and violence in the workplace. These policies should clearly outline procedures for reporting incidents, protecting individuals from retaliation, and ensuring a safe work environment. Regular reviews of these policies are essential to keep them aligned with current legislation and best practices. By establishing clear guidelines, employers demonstrate their commitment to safeguarding their employees' welfare.
Practical measures can also be implemented as part of company policy to consider different risks and protect the safety of their employees who are facing domestic violence. These could include:
Flexible Working Hours: employees being able to adjust their work schedules can allow them to avoid unsafe situations, such as travelling home during the late hours of the evening, when it is dark or when not many people are around when it would be more dangerous for incidents or encounters might occur. This flexibility can also support employee wellbeing by reducing their safety concerns and anxiety about what events could occur.
CCTV Installation: consider implementing surveillance cameras in strategic locations so that employee safety is considered, and that individuals who enter the workplace or hang around the workplace are consistently monitored, even during the evening or when there are less security staff around. This could include have cameras in the parking areas, building entrance and exits, and parking areas. CCTV installation can ensure there is a record of who is around and enters a workplace building and prevent unwanted incidents occurring.
Transportation Support: supporting employees by providing a taxi services or shared safe transportation can help employees who fear going home alone or running into their perpetrator by going home alone or by public transport. This could be particularly helpful for employees who work night or evening shifts and return home at late, unsociable hours. Supporting employees who are at risk getting home can reduce the risk of harmful incidents occurring during commutes to and from work.
Emergency Protocols: developing emergency protocols as well as regular drills and ensuring all staff are on board and aware of what to do in case an emergency occurs in the workplace, ensures everyone is better equipped and knows what to do in case an incident does occur. This could include safety training and how to report suspicious activity at work, what to do if there is a situation that feels unsafe and how to evacuate the premises in a safe manner if necessary.
Security Measures: providing photos of known perpetrators at the front desk, reception or security checkpoints of a workplace can be useful in alerting members of security and staff if they should turn up. These measures can prevent them accessing the building and coming into contact with the victim. These policy areas address the risks which employees who face domestic abuse often face. Considering these and incorporating them into company policy has the potential to mitigate the anxieties and fears which domestic violence victims face.
Educate and Improve Employee Understanding
Education is a powerful tool in fostering a culture of awareness and accountability. Employers should offer regular training sessions on topics such as workplace harassment, unconscious bias, and gender sensitivity. These sessions can help employees understand the importance of creating an inclusive and respectful work environment. By improving employee understanding of these issues, companies can reduce the likelihood of harassment and violence, promoting a safer workplace for everyone.
Workplace training can include guidance on how to recognise the signs of domestic violence among colleagues.
Six common indicators of domestic abuse (but not limited to) might include:
1. Behavioural Changes: people suffering from DV may seem unusually quiet, withdrawn or anxious. They may avoid or limit social interactions with colleagues or become isolated from the workplace community
2. Emotional Distress: there may be signs of your colleague feeling down, anxious, or depressed. You may also notice changes some changes in their mood and behaviour.
3. Physical Injuries: you may notice that they have injuries or frequent bruises which they explain as resulting from accidents, or they may blame themself and attribute it to their own clumsiness. Such explanations can seem to be inconsistent or hard to believe.
4. Absences: sudden and frequent absences or changes in performance without clear explanations could indicate that someone is facing the challenges of domestic abuse.
5. Financial Strain: there may be indications your colleague is having trouble financially. This can be demonstrated by expressing concerns about financial matters or frequently asking to borrow money.
6. Control and Monitoring: Excessive phone calls or constant text messages from their partner whilst they are at work can sometimes indicate they are dealing with controlling behaviour.
Ensuring that members of staff are aware and able to identify signs that someone may be experiencing domestic abuse makes a company which is better equipped to protect and support the safety of their employees.
Put Support Systems into Action
Employers should implement support systems to assist women facing domestic violence or threats to their safety. This could include Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), access to therapy sessions as a company benefit, or regular wellbeing check-ins with line managers. Providing these resources shows employees that their employer is invested in their safety and well-being. Support systems not only help women in crisis but also contribute to a culture of care and support within the organisation.
Here are four actionable methods for implementing support systems:
1. Confidential Communication Channels
Employees can be provided with discreet ways to ask for help at work, for instance via an anonymous email address, private HR calls, or through secure apps. All employees should be made aware of these systems, and they should be easily accessed in a time of need.
2. Safe Spaces at Work
Some companies can create a secure, quiet room for members of staff who need a safe space to have private conversations without being overheard. This could be useful for attending counselling sessions, making private calls, or just needing somewhere where you can take a breather.
3. Workplace Advocates
Organisations can appoint members of staff who are trained to become domestic violence advocates. Hence, employees have the option of talking with someone who they already know within their company who has the knowledge to provide immediate guidance and support.
4. DV Ally or Mentorship Programs
Mentorship or Ally programs can support women facing domestic violence as they can be paired with someone who has faced a similar challenging and can support them with what they are going through. This protects the wellbeing of victims as it can avoid them ending up being isolated and feeling alone.
These practices are somewhat small methods that can make a large impact on creating a supportive environment at work where the tools exist for employees to seek out help during times of need.
Overall, women’s safety is not just a societal, legal or political issue, within the realm of needing to protect individuals physical and mental safety, it becomes a workplace responsibility.
Creating safe, supportive, and inclusive work environments is essential for the productivity and wellbeing of all employees. At Apiary, we believe that employers are more than capable of driving meaningful change by reviewing their policies, raising awareness through training, and developing support systems. These efforts surpass just being compliant, they demonstrate a universal commitment to protect people whilst fostering a healthy culture of consideration, care and respect.
Develop Comprehensive Company Policies
Employers can take a proactive stance by developing company policies that address harassment and violence in the workplace. These policies should clearly outline procedures for reporting incidents, protecting individuals from retaliation, and ensuring a safe work environment. Regular reviews of these policies are essential to keep them aligned with current legislation and best practices. By establishing clear guidelines, employers demonstrate their commitment to safeguarding their employees' welfare.
Practical measures can also be implemented as part of company policy to consider different risks and protect the safety of their employees who are facing domestic violence. These could include:
Flexible Working Hours: employees being able to adjust their work schedules can allow them to avoid unsafe situations, such as travelling home during the late hours of the evening, when it is dark or when not many people are around when it would be more dangerous for incidents or encounters might occur. This flexibility can also support employee wellbeing by reducing their safety concerns and anxiety about what events could occur.
CCTV Installation: consider implementing surveillance cameras in strategic locations so that employee safety is considered, and that individuals who enter the workplace or hang around the workplace are consistently monitored, even during the evening or when there are less security staff around. This could include have cameras in the parking areas, building entrance and exits, and parking areas. CCTV installation can ensure there is a record of who is around and enters a workplace building and prevent unwanted incidents occurring.
Transportation Support: supporting employees by providing a taxi services or shared safe transportation can help employees who fear going home alone or running into their perpetrator by going home alone or by public transport. This could be particularly helpful for employees who work night or evening shifts and return home at late, unsociable hours. Supporting employees who are at risk getting home can reduce the risk of harmful incidents occurring during commutes to and from work.
Emergency Protocols: developing emergency protocols as well as regular drills and ensuring all staff are on board and aware of what to do in case an emergency occurs in the workplace, ensures everyone is better equipped and knows what to do in case an incident does occur. This could include safety training and how to report suspicious activity at work, what to do if there is a situation that feels unsafe and how to evacuate the premises in a safe manner if necessary.
Security Measures: providing photos of known perpetrators at the front desk, reception or security checkpoints of a workplace can be useful in alerting members of security and staff if they should turn up. These measures can prevent them accessing the building and coming into contact with the victim. These policy areas address the risks which employees who face domestic abuse often face. Considering these and incorporating them into company policy has the potential to mitigate the anxieties and fears which domestic violence victims face.
Educate and Improve Employee Understanding
Education is a powerful tool in fostering a culture of awareness and accountability. Employers should offer regular training sessions on topics such as workplace harassment, unconscious bias, and gender sensitivity. These sessions can help employees understand the importance of creating an inclusive and respectful work environment. By improving employee understanding of these issues, companies can reduce the likelihood of harassment and violence, promoting a safer workplace for everyone.
Workplace training can include guidance on how to recognise the signs of domestic violence among colleagues.
Six common indicators of domestic abuse (but not limited to) might include:
1. Behavioural Changes: people suffering from DV may seem unusually quiet, withdrawn or anxious. They may avoid or limit social interactions with colleagues or become isolated from the workplace community
2. Emotional Distress: there may be signs of your colleague feeling down, anxious, or depressed. You may also notice changes some changes in their mood and behaviour.
3. Physical Injuries: you may notice that they have injuries or frequent bruises which they explain as resulting from accidents, or they may blame themself and attribute it to their own clumsiness. Such explanations can seem to be inconsistent or hard to believe.
4. Absences: sudden and frequent absences or changes in performance without clear explanations could indicate that someone is facing the challenges of domestic abuse.
5. Financial Strain: there may be indications your colleague is having trouble financially. This can be demonstrated by expressing concerns about financial matters or frequently asking to borrow money.
6. Control and Monitoring: Excessive phone calls or constant text messages from their partner whilst they are at work can sometimes indicate they are dealing with controlling behaviour.
Ensuring that members of staff are aware and able to identify signs that someone may be experiencing domestic abuse makes a company which is better equipped to protect and support the safety of their employees.
Put Support Systems into Action
Employers should implement support systems to assist women facing domestic violence or threats to their safety. This could include Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), access to therapy sessions as a company benefit, or regular wellbeing check-ins with line managers. Providing these resources shows employees that their employer is invested in their safety and well-being. Support systems not only help women in crisis but also contribute to a culture of care and support within the organisation.
Here are four actionable methods for implementing support systems:
1. Confidential Communication Channels
Employees can be provided with discreet ways to ask for help at work, for instance via an anonymous email address, private HR calls, or through secure apps. All employees should be made aware of these systems, and they should be easily accessed in a time of need.
2. Safe Spaces at Work
Some companies can create a secure, quiet room for members of staff who need a safe space to have private conversations without being overheard. This could be useful for attending counselling sessions, making private calls, or just needing somewhere where you can take a breather.
3. Workplace Advocates
Organisations can appoint members of staff who are trained to become domestic violence advocates. Hence, employees have the option of talking with someone who they already know within their company who has the knowledge to provide immediate guidance and support.
4. DV Ally or Mentorship Programs
Mentorship or Ally programs can support women facing domestic violence as they can be paired with someone who has faced a similar challenging and can support them with what they are going through. This protects the wellbeing of victims as it can avoid them ending up being isolated and feeling alone.
These practices are somewhat small methods that can make a large impact on creating a supportive environment at work where the tools exist for employees to seek out help during times of need.
Overall, women’s safety is not just a societal, legal or political issue, within the realm of needing to protect individuals physical and mental safety, it becomes a workplace responsibility.
Creating safe, supportive, and inclusive work environments is essential for the productivity and wellbeing of all employees. At Apiary, we believe that employers are more than capable of driving meaningful change by reviewing their policies, raising awareness through training, and developing support systems. These efforts surpass just being compliant, they demonstrate a universal commitment to protect people whilst fostering a healthy culture of consideration, care and respect.
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