The numbers are truly staggering when talking about DFV:

• Approximately one quarter of women in Australia have experienced at least one incident of violence by an intimate partner.
• In 2020, 54 per cent of women who experienced violence by a current partner did not seek help.
• Of these women, 82 per cent of these women never contacted the police.

These are just some of the facts we know about.

A common question the Victorian Chamber’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing team encounter from business owners and managers is ‘how is DFV a workplace issue?’

The majority of both victims and perpetrators of DFV are in paid employment and sadly, the impacts of DFV are likely to impact every workplace at some point - whether it be in the form of diminished attendance and work performance, perpetrators attempting to gain access to a workplace, misuse of company equipment, or the safety of coworkers being put in jeopardy.

As an employer, you have a critical role to play in being part of the solution to this urgent problem that affects our entire society.

Employers have a legal obligation to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of their employees. Due to its prominence, DFV is a foreseeable risk and employers must have controls in place to reduce the risk to victims, other employees and members of the public.

Often, it is a manager or colleague who may notice a change in an employee’s behaviour, something out of character or unusual, which might initiate a conversation with that employee.

As with early warning signs of poor mental health, a workplace that is able to pick up on the warning signs and offer support early, can play a crucial role in that employee’s journey towards seeking help.

The important question that confronts workplaces is how well-equipped is that manager or colleague to act upon what they have noticed, and take practical, supportive steps to make a change for the better?

How we can help

The Victorian Chamber is offering business to participate in Managing Domestic and Family Violence in the Workplace - a half day training course that specifically addresses the issues discussed above.

The course is available to be held as both a public course and private on-site session in your workplace. The course can also be delivered in person or remotely.

Click here for more information and to enroll in the course.

The Victorian Chamber also has a host of resources and factsheets available to your business to help navigate these difficult situations, including the National Employment Standards Factsheet to help you identify what personal, carer’s, compassionate, family and domestic violence leave your staff are entitled to.

Members, before downloading your tools and templates, please make sure you are signed into your Victorian Chamber account.