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Kate Barrett is a Trustee at UK SAYS NO MORE partner organisation The Corporate Alliance Against Domestic Violence. Founded in 2005, The Corporate Alliance are the only charitable organisation working on a business-to-business platform to advise companies in addressing and mitigating the risk domestic violence poses to their company and employees.
When I became a Trustee of The Corporate Alliance Against Domestic Violence, earlier this year, I never quite realised what would happen when I started talking to people about it.
All of a sudden I have people I have known for some time approaching me, offering support to our charity and telling me their stories. People I would never have suspected could be victims of Domestic Violence…… Women in senior roles, with demanding jobs, leaders, specialists in their field and a man too, yes.
You see, domestic violence doesn’t happen to ‘a certain type of person’, it can happen to anyone.
All of these people have said to me that “if only” they’d had the support of their employer they quite possibly would’ve done things sooner…… Having the opportunity and the confidence to go speak to their employer may have got them out of the situation sooner. The safety of the workplace….. don’t under estimate it.
They might not have had to take so much time off work (Employers, do you hear that?…. This is a cost to your business that you could avoid). Do you know how much Domestic Violence costs the UK economy?…. £1.9bn each year and some of that cost could be prevented by supporting your employees through this traumatic time.
So please, Employers, have a look around your workforce. 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men are affected by Domestic Violence. Is it possible this could be happening in your workforce? How do you support your staff? How do you keep these victims on your radar? How do you protect them? How do you keep them at work?…… Looking after your staff ultimately benefits you, and shows your staff you are a caring and supportive employer (not to mention the cost savings on your bottom line – sorry that’s the Accountant in me!)
When we talk about it, people share their experiences. When they share their experiences, we can help them get the support they need to resolve the situation.
If you need help to understand how you can make the first steps to put systems in place please contact us. We can help you start the process, and support you through it…..
– Kate Barrett, Trustee, The Corporate Alliance Against Domestic Violence
If you’d like to learn more about what we do, click here.
Interested in becoming a partner of UK SAYS NO MORE?
We’d love to hear from you, please get in touch with Lyndsey Dearlove, Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Partnership Manager.
You can contact Lyndsey by email at Lyndsey.Dearlove@hestia.org or by phone at 020 7378 3170.
