By Kristy Dorsey
Employers are being asked to make workplace support for victims of domestic abuse “business as usual”, with findings from a new report indicating that few organisations are aware of how to spot the early warning signs.
The rallying call by UK Business Minister Paul Scully comes as the Government’s Domestic Abuse Bill reaches the final stages of its passage through Parliament. Described as “ground-breaking” legislation, the bill’s progress has been delayed for three years by two general elections, the controversial prorogation of Parliament in 2019, and the Covid pandemic.
In an open letter to all UK employers, Mr Scully said a lack of awareness and the stigma around domestic abuse has “for too long” stopped workplaces from putting in the kind of help that victims require.
READ MORE: Brexit: 'EU shut' exporters say as Scotland Food and Drink warns of worse ahead
“I know from personal experience that both bosses and colleagues are in a unique position to help spot the signs of domestic abuse and ensure survivors get the support they need so they no longer have to suffer in silence,” he said.
“That’s doesn’t mean making employers into counsellors or healthcare workers, but the actions I’ve outlined today – which can be as simple as providing a safe space to talk – can have a life-changing impact on survivors.”
Some of the most common warning signs are changes in a person’s behaviour, a sudden drop in performance, mentions of controlling of coercive behaviour in partners, or physical signs such as bruising.
READ MORE: Trickle in £1m bid to boost employee wellbeing
In light of new findings from the Government’s review into workplace support for domestic abuse victims, Mr Scully has announced plans to consult on steps that can be taken so survivors can better exercise their existing employment rights, such as the right to request flexible working. A working group will also be assembled to establish practical solutions that employers can implement in the workplace.
The report found that stereotyping of the types of people that can be affected by domestic abuse is hindering support, despite clear evidence that it can happen to anyone regardless of gender, age ethnicity or economic status. Although women suffer disproportionately, most recent figures from Police Scotland listed a man as the victim in 18 per cent of all incidents recorded in 2017-18.
The Domestic Abuse Bill will for the first time create a statutory definition of abuse that includes emotional, coercive and economic abuse as well as physical violence. It also contains a range of measures to better protect and support survivors and their children.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here