How to support employees suffering with domestic abuse

Anyone can be a victim of domestic abuse, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, socio-economic status, sexuality or background.

Domestic abuse is defined by the Home Office as:

Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse…this can encompass but is not limited to the following types of abuse:

• psychological
• physical
• sexual
• financial
• emotional

This definition includes ‘honour’ based violence, female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage.

How prevalent is it?

Over two million adults suffer some form of domestic abuse in the UK every year.

One in four women and one in six men experience domestic abuse. This means that there will be employees in almost every workplace who are affected.  

How to spot signs in employees?

Decreased motivation, being late, being distracted, being on the phone very often, anxiety, often taking time off work or not taking enough time off and working late are some of the signs of domestic abuse which employers are well placed to spot.

How to support employees?

Disclosing domestic abuse is often something an individual will struggle with. It is important not to put pressure on an employee and avoid making assumptions. Instead, a better understanding and awareness of domestic abuse and a supportive atmosphere within the workplace are vital to allowing employees the space to talk about it. 

It may be hard for your employee to accept that a crime has been committed against them, but domestic abuse is a crime and should be reported to the police. Every police force in the UK has a specialist team responsible for investigating abuse. Providing support to employees through the disclosure process, either via a colleague or a counsellor or charity, is essential. 

You can also inform employees to contact lawyers for legal advice about action they may be able to take against the perpetrator.

Signposting employees to specialist organisations

You should make employees aware that there are a number of services across the UK which offer support: National Domestic Abuse Helpline, Rape Crisis, Men’s Advice Line, Galop LGBT+ Domestic Abuse helpline and specific services for survivors of honour-based violence and forced marriage: Karma Nirvana, Women’s Aid and Home Office Forced Marriage Unit.

Safety apps such as Hollie Guard and Bright Sky allow access to support and information and can also be used to store and send evidence of domestic abuse incidents.

The Ask for ANI campaign – involving independent pharmacies and Boots – launched on 14 January 2021. This allows survivors of domestic abuse or those at risk of such abuse to go into any participating pharmacy and ask for “ANI”.  They will then be linked to appropriate services such as the police and abuse helplines.

Reassuring employees

The very manipulative nature of domestic abuse means that victims often feel isolated. The biggest support you can give employees is to assure them that they are not alone and help is available from a number of sources and organisations.

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