MEDIA RELEASE – for immediate release
17 October 2007

Family Violence Doesn’t Stay Home When Its Victims Go To Work

Family violence is estimated to cost the country over $1.2 billion a year*. Given the high incidence rate, a good percentage of this figure is a cost to New Zealand business (approx $2.9 million in lost working days and productivity annually); proving that family violence doesn’t stay at home when its victims go to work.

With one in three New Zealand women reporting abuse at some time in their lives, domestic violence is likely to affect almost any mid-to-large sized company. Employers who help address the issue can provide real help to victims and reduce the associated risks to the business bottom line.

Preventing Violence in the Home is New Zealand’s largest single agency in the domestic violence field, which implements a number of practical and innovative services to make victims safe and offenders accountable. In relation to practicality in business, Preventing Violence in the Home operates ‘DVFREE™’ - a workplace programme specifically aimed at helping victims of domestic violence and benefiting participating businesses as a result.

DVFREE™ is a unique national programme that partners with employers to help managers and workers understand the nature of domestic violence and support employees as soon as they disclose the problem.

Once senior management/CEO support is established, Preventing Violence in the Home delivers a basic awareness campaign for all employees and more specialised training for identified ‘Contactpoint people’. Preventing Violence in the Home also assists with preparing relevant HR policy and procedures tailored to each business, as well as ongoing consultation and evaluation.

Holly Carrington, Services Manager for Preventing Violence in the Home, says of this unique initiative:

“Employers that have implemented this programme report that it has a positive impact on employee productivity and morale. This initiative is not only a way to help employers be more socially responsible but also makes good business sense – because if it is impacting on your staff, it’s impacting on your business.”

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*Ref. NZ Economic cost of family violence Wellington Dept of Social Welfare, 1994.
**NZ Economic Cost of Family Violence. Author: Economist, Snively, S.L.
***Fanslow and Robinson, 2004.

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One such employer, who is seeing the benefit of incorporating ‘DVFREE™’ into its business, is Hubbards Foods Limited which implemented the programme earlier this year (April 07).

Doug Paulin, CEO of Hubbards Foods Limited, says:

“Once we were presented with the concept of the ‘DV FREE™ workplace programme, we as a company found it a no-risk way to support staff who are victims of domestic violence. In fact you could say that private issues for staff are easier to handle with such a structure in place.

“Preventing Violence in the Home has given us valuable assistance to implement practical HR policy and structures which have created no added hassle to the way we run our business. From setting the programme in place, we have had an overwhelming response of staff volunteering to be the ongoing Contactpoint people, which is really rewarding to see.”

Hubbards has a staff total of 105 male and 39 female. The ‘DVFREE™ workplace programme has trained six Contactpoint people – (four men and two women) that staff can reach out to.

Doug Paulin, summarises the importance of ‘DVFREE™ for all businesses and recommends that other businesses follow suit:

“It is crucial that domestic abuse be seen as a serious, recognisable, and preventable problem like many other workplace health and safety issues that affect a business and its bottom line”.

Ends.

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