YS please do share — do you have it now? Thanks
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The only problem in France and Spain with the pharmacy code is that not all pharmacies have been trained in what to do and how to respond. There was a very interesting app developed in Italy for young people reporting drug and forms of abuse, which is now being developed into a tool to report domestic violence. One of the issues is finding ways that women/survivors can safely report abuse. I want to stress again that unless we change policy we will still be in a situation where the police fail to respond, where victims/survivors and their children have no choice but to remain silent or leave their home. Domestic violence must not be a pretext for women to be forced into homelessness or to leave their homes. Now is an important time for us to rethink policy - this is where we need employers, companies, businesses to help change the narrative - for us all to be saying that it is time to seriously address the problem.
This is why I think governments should also step in and force them to do so there should be measures in place for all women across all companies
Yes, agree Seyi, we need to have a broad understanding of GBV/domestic violence, including online violence and abuse.
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I agree with you, it’s easy to say that violence against women a=has increased because of the stress of isolation, etc, but it is driven as you say by unequal power. We should be careful of how do we build this narrative.
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Its such a commendable campaign. I also saw that Chelsea Football Club are supporting a fundraising campaign for Refuge. Do you know of any other companies or indeed whether there is a network of companies working on this together in the Uk context?
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It’s very relevant to estimate the impact of the pandemic right now on domestic violence but is quite challenging because there is:
• Limited data on how levels of violence change
• A lack of disaggregated data particularly for vulnerable groups such as adolescent girls, older women, women and girls with disabilities, and refugee/migrant women
• Limited research on the pathways of violence and how outbreaks can exacerbate different forms of violence against women and girls
We men must do more to built a more equality society. We must be in front of the fight against any abuse and violence against women.
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@NatalieDeacon this is a great initiative! Well done. A good move following yesterday’s statement from the UN Secretary General calling for similar changes: https://unicmanila.org/2020/04/06/un-secretary-generals-statement-on-gender-based-violence-and-covid-19/ perhaps a good opportunity to amplify messaging
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The Vodafone ‘Bright Sky’ app which anyone can download from the app store provides some excellent information and help in an emergency - it has been rolled out in UK and Ireland - its an excellent tool. The next objective should be to have apps with geo-location facilities to alert the police and to guarantee a fast response - it could save lives!
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I have it but it’s currently in word documents because Thomson Reuters graphic design team is finishing it but I’m happy to send the word documents via email …
Thanks Anita, and great to see the UN Secretary General’s video last night. Together we can have a louder voice and break through the wall of silence around this issue!
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This is such an important point. It is exactly driven by gender inequality. But I think our public health response to the crisis can, exactly as you say, imprison survivors in homes with their abusers, and prevent them from accessing services. The danger is always that the rights and needs of women and girls are overlooked as part of any crisis response, but in this one it must be brought to peoples attention that people are being asked to stay safe at home to prevent becoming infected, but that homes are not safe for too many women.
yes i saw that some are calling for an increase in emergency police protection orders to try and evict abusers rather than women form their homes
The UN has published a good report on to Responding to the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 : https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/sg_report_socio-economic_impact_of_covid19.pdf
We are B2B marketplace dedicated to sustainability and we’re looking for sustainable impact solutions that could help businesses to become more sustainable during and after the # covid19. We hope that we could find good solutions for helping businesses to address gender based violence.
Please join us and share with us your solution: https://www.b4purpose.com/en/
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Our seance question of the day:
- What can companies do to support employees internally - what new policies and processes need to be put in place?
YES! Men are part of the solution - this cannot be women talking to other women!
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Thanks and most definitely!
In relation to domestic violence, many companies have policies and procedures in place to recognise and respond to domestic violence in the workplace (for example, the Vodafone global policy using the ‘recognise, respond and refer’ model). It is essential to adapt these measures to the workplace/home setting.
There are many examples of successful workplace policies – and we take our inspiration particularly from Australia, New Zealand and Canada where laws, workplace policies and collective agreements set out responsibilities for employers, the role of social dialogue in creating effective workplace measures, and workplace supports to ensure the safety of survivors of domestic violence.
In addition, ILO Convention 190 (and accompanying ILO Recommendation 206) on eliminating violence and harassment in the world of work and C.190 acknowledges that domestic violence can affect employment, productivity and occupational safety and health, and that governments, employers, workers organisations and labour market institutions can help “to recognise, respond and address DV impacts.” (PREAMBLE). Art10(f) calls on ‘…ratifying States to recognise the effects of DV and in so far as is reasonably practicable, to mitigate its impact on the world of work.”
There are both immediate and long term measures that need to be put in place to address the increase in domestic violence in and beyond the Crisis-19 crisis. And let’s use this crisis as an opportunity to really change how we do things so that we address domestic violence seriously as a safety and health measure in the world of work, along with a shift in national policies through coordinated actions, that guarantee the safety of surivivors and their children in their own homes.
In the first of our ‘DV@Work Covid-19 Briefings’ ‘Briefing 1: What can employers and companies do to address domestic violence during the Covid-19 crisis’ (by Jane Pillinger, Ludo McFerron and Barb MacQuarrie) we give guidance about immediate steps that employers can take to address their ‘duty of care’ to their employees. Guidance is also given for governments and also for working together collaboratively.
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Hi Natalie, I’m very happy to share details of this initiative with the ETI brands if you would like to garner support from the membership.