AWARENESS CAMPAIGN 2011
Are you an employer? You can make a difference!
Jersey Domestic Violence Forum launch the Open Door Corporate Campaign against Domestic Abuse.
It's our business - a survivor's story
Domestic abuse isn’t confined to the home. When victims walk out the door and go to
work – 75% of women who experience domestic abuse are harassed in the workplace.
One in four women and one in six men experience domestic abuse at some point in their lifetime; it costs businesses £2.7billion in lost economic output across Wales and the UK every year.
The Jersey Domestic Violence Forum invited all employers
to attend a Breakfast Seminar and/or one of our CPD workshops especially designed for employers, as part of the
exciting new ‘Open Door’ Corporate Campaign Against Domestic Abuse.
click here for more information about the events that were held.
Delegates from some of Jersey’s largest public and private sector employers and HR
professionals who attended the seminar heard about our latest campaign which seeks to address the problem faced by so many employees. By taking a number of
small practical steps on domestic abuse, an employer can reduce sickness, absence, save money and could even save lives.
Speakers included Fiona Bowman, a city businesswoman and an internationally
recognised speaker on the issue of Domestic Violence and its impact in the workplace.
Fiona campaigns relentlessly in her spare time for businesses to adopt Domestic
Violence Policies as part of their HR Policies and Procedures.
Training workshops for 2012
Watch the Channel news report
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A survivor's account of how she was able to change her life with some recognition, help and support from her employer.
“I had been the victim of emotional physical abuse by my husband for a number of years. No one (not even my closest family) had any idea what my life was really like. Over the years the abuse escalated and I started taking a few days off work when things had got really bad. My employer began to suspect that something was wrong and one day when I was off work, he phoned me to ask how I was. I said that I just had a sore throat and a bit of a cold and that I would be back at work in a couple of days. When I returned to work he said that he felt that there was something wrong. He said that I didn’t have to tell him but that he wanted to help me. I did manage to confide in him about some of the things that were happening to me. Over the period of about a year, through discussions with him, he managed to help me to look at the various options that I could have to help me to sort out my life. The biggest problem for me was that I lived in a very small community and I felt a lot of shame and guilt about what was happening. I was scared that I would not be able to manage on my own with my two small children and worried about what everyone would think of me. Eventually I did leave and although it was really difficult, with the help of my employer, I managed to escape and change my life forever. I applied to university and three years later I had a degree – something I never thought I was capable of.”“I had been the victim of emotional physical abuse by my husband for a number of years. No one (not even my closest family) had any idea what my life was really like. Over the years the abuse escalated and I started taking a few days off work when things had got really bad. My employer began to suspect that something was wrong and one day when I was off work, he phoned me to ask how I was. I said that I just had a sore throat and a bit of a cold and that I would be back at work in a couple of days. When I returned to work he said that he felt that there was something wrong. He said that I didn’t have to tell him but that he wanted to help me. I did manage to confide in him about some of the things that were happening to me. Over the period of about a year, through discussions with him, he managed to help me to look at the various options that I could have to help me to sort out my life. The biggest problem for me was that I lived in a very small community and I felt a lot of shame and guilt about what was happening. I was scared that I would not be able to manage on my own with my two small children and worried about what everyone would think of me. Eventually I did leave and although it was really difficult, with the help of my employer, I managed to escape and change my life forever. I applied to university and three years later I had a degree – something I never thought I was capable of.”
To support the Refuge in other ways within your workplace view our
help as an employer page.