Domestic violence: help from the workplace
In India, a small but growing number of companies are having policies in place to extend support to employees facing this situation
Recently, home services provider Urban Company initiated what it calls “Project Nidar” for the benefit of its service partners affected by domestic violence (DV) in the past or present. It even drafted a policy against genderbased violence — a play book on the measures to be taken to help a DV victim.
At a functional level, Urban Company has teamed up with Invisible Scars Foundation, an NGO supporting survivors of gender-based violence, to provide counselling, legal assistance and emergency lodging support to its service partners suffering from DV.
Financial assistance towards medical treatment of a service partner hit by DV is offered “beyond the already existing ₹1 lakh insurance cover, and financial aid of up to ₹50,000 to service partners seeking help”, says a communication from the company.
Domestic violence rarely enters the ambit of workplace discussions, as a majority of Indian companies give it a wide berth treating it as a personal issue. Companies that have a policy in place to address it are outliers.
According to National Family Health Survey — 5, over 70% of women that experienced physical violence in major States did not seek help or tell anyone about it, least of all their employers.
Ekta Viiveck Verma, founder, Invisible Scars Foundation, underlines the lack of credible sources of data about emotional and psychological abuse or abuse against men and transgender people. So everyone in an organisation should be sensitised, she adds.
Among signs of domestic violence are absenteeism, deteriorating performance at work and an inability to speak before a team.
Swetha Shankar, senior director — programs, PCVC, says organisations that have polices in place are those that have encountered DV. Indian branches of MNCs usually have a policy, one that reflects their parent company’s.
Among the silver linings in the pandemic is the increased awareness about the prevalence of DV. Consumer goods major Hindustan Unilever introduced a policy to help employees facing domestic abuse.
PCVC launched “Vakya” during the pandemic to help organisations establish a policy against DV.
“Not many companies recognise DV as a workplace issue. They are happy to invite us for workshops and have a list of resources but not many companies have progressed to having a policy in place,” says Swetha.
She says the leadership can play a vital role in the support of victims of domestic violence.
Besides sensitising line managers as well as others on how to respond to a colleague who is a DV victim, a policy should provide a picture of how the company would help the victim recover from the trauma, which includes financial assistance, leave and health policy, and safety and security at the workplace, says Swetha.
It usually turns out to be a win-win situation for employee and employer.
“Organisations incur massive costs hiring and training a new hire. If an employer supports a DV survivor at half the cost they would incur as a result of a hiring and training exercise, it would be able to win that employee’s loyalty. The economic burden of domestic abuse on workplaces is usually not understood well because it is not direct. Currently, it is the State that has to provide resources in terms of setting up helplines, counselling and providing temporary housing,” says Ekta, adding that if companies step into that role, the burden on the State will be eased. Employee assistance programmes (EAPs) must include counsellors sensitised in handling trauma causes.
DV is a human rights violation and a progressive organisation will have a policy in place to address it. It is equally important to look at the abuser that may be on the payroll.
Ekta says workplaces can take a cue from “batterer intervention programmes” to prevent domestic violence offenders from engaging in further abuse. This is common in the West and attended voluntarily or under legal advice.