Domestic and family violence: developing a new language for workplaces
Speech to Forum on Domestic violence clauses in enterprise agreements, an Australian first at UNSW
Elizabeth
Broderick
Sex Discrimination Commissioner and Commissioner responsible
for Age Discrimination
Thursday 15 April 2010
PLEASE CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
I want to begin today by acknowledging the Gadigal people of the Eora nation and pay my respects to their elders, past and present.
I would also like to acknowledge the Minister for the Status of Women, Tanya Plibersek and Paul Pearce, Member for Coogee.
I would also like to extend a particular welcome to Ged Kearny, the incoming president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions – I look forward to working closely with you in coming months. I would also like to acknowledge Neil Morris who is representing the Vice Chancellor today and thank you for your welcome. Thank you also to Steve Turner the Assistant Branch Secretary of the CPSU, Maria Cirillo from the Public Service Association and the Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse for the invitation to be here this afternoon.
It is a pleasure to be here at my alma mater discussing this topic with you today. I graduated from UNSW in 1984. Even back then in many ways UNSW was leading the way. It was one of the first universities to offer a combined computer science and law degree which was very innovative at the time and propelled me into the workforce with what was a pretty unique set of qualifications. Little did I ever think I would end up as the Sex Discrimination Commissioner.
So thank you for the opportunity to be back here with the UNSW community today.
As I have travelled across Australia, talking to thousands of women and men, I have become more and more convinced that building women’s economic security is vital to achieving gender equality in this country.
The primary way the majority of us lay the foundations of our economic security is through participation in paid work.
Most of us are well aware of the barriers that still exist to women’s participation in paid work – women’s caring responsibilities, the shortage of affordable and accessible childcare, the lack of flexible work conditions – easily recognisable forms of gender based discrimination.
But as a community and as employers we are less familiar with ways in which domestic and family violence affects a women’s ability to stay in the paid workforce.
We know that almost one in three women who experience domestic and family violence are in the workforce, so there is no question that the issue of violence affects many in our workplaces.[1] Domestic and family violence is an issue still cloaked in silence and shame – and that is even more pronounced in workplaces.
But violence has serious implications for individual women’s short and long term financial security. [2] Domestic and family violence can disrupt women’s work and can cause women to incur a range of additional costs and debts.
For example, violent partners may control a woman’s participation in paid work. A woman may leave paid work because of threats. Or a woman’s absences from the workplace due to violence may place her employment at risk.
Women’s rental accommodation or home ownership is often threatened by violence. Women incur significant debts moving and securing new accommodation. They don’t always receive information about their entitlements and child support can be an unreliable supplement to support the costs of raising children.
We know that these financial penalties and disruptions to women’s participation in the paid workforce will also accumulate and compound over time which means the economic price that women pay is life long.
We must develop better workplace responses to domestic and family violence to ensure that women can stay attached to the workforce. Doing this will mean three things.
Firstly, we will protect women’s financial security in the immediate term – women will be less likely to lose their job in a period of crisis.
Secondly, if we can keep women attached to the labour market, we will better protect their economic security in the longer term – they will be less likely to live in poverty in their twilight years.
But thirdly, and most importantly from an employers perspective, individual businesses will be better able to prevent the unnecessary loss of talented staff. That is particularly the case as we recover from the GFC and given the significant demographic shift that is occurring in Australia move back in to a period of skills shortage.
It is my wish that no woman would ever have to use domestic and family violence provisions, but the data tells us otherwise.
My conversations with employers demonstrate that they are looking for the language to discuss domestic violence in the workplace and to find innovative approaches to support women. I believe that initiatives like the ones we are discussing here today at UNSW are leading the way. They are example that other businesses and employers might follow.
As you might know, when I came to the position of Sex Discrimination Commissioner, I went on a national Listening Tour to understand what Australian women and men thought about gender equality.
One of the themes I was particularly concerned to hear about was gender-based harassment and violence. Many men and women I spoke to saw this issue as a significant and ongoing barrier to gender equality.
But I also raised the same issue with businesses and employers throughout the Tour. And I have to tell you, when the powerpoint flipped over and we got to that part of the presentation there was, more often than not, an awkward silence and several exchanged glances.
For many employers, domestic violence is an intensely private issue. Employers don’t have the language to discuss it with the employees involved or at an organisation level. One employer admitted to me that, “we have a duty of care over the person [their employee], which includes their personal life in circumstances in how that impacts them and how that’s going to impact them as a worker.” “But”, he continued, “how far do you take that... where do you get the language around domestic violence? I probably will be referring them to other people. I’m not going to have the skills or [desire] to get involved in their personal circumstances.”[3]
There were some employers who clearly recognised domestic and family violence as a workplace issue. As one of them said to me, “We have the opinion that anything that impinges on your work performance is our concern.”[4]
There are a small number of innovative programs which are increasing some organisation’s understanding of domestic and family violence and local services.
For example I have met with a Brisbane based organisation called the CEO Challenge which is engaging with Chief Executive Officers of organisations to position domestic violence as an issue for the workplace. The program tells men and women (perpetrators and victims) where they can access help if they are in the cycle of domestic violence and there are some employers who do refer staff to employee assistance or counselling programs if they are experiencing domestic violence.[5]
But referral to counselling alone will not be enough to keep women attached to the workforce.
The CEO Challenge does also encourage employers to give their staff time off for relationship counselling and financial counselling. One CEO who participated in the program said he didn’t think any of his staff experienced domestic violence amongst staff in his workplace but when he introduced the program he reduced staff turnover by 20%.[6]
Let me congratulate both the UNSW and the PSA/CPSU on their preparedness to see domestic and family violence as a workplace issue - as an issue that affects employers and employees.
Including domestic and family violence provisions in an enterprise agreement sends a strong message that domestic and family violence impacts on workplaces.
I know that Maria Cirillo is going to detail the PSA/CPSU’s proposed provisions – but I want to say that provisions such as additional special leave and security measures will go a long way towards supporting women to remain attached to their workplace.
Enshrining these sorts of arrangements within the Enterprise Agreement means that they become a workplace entitlement – a regular part of the employment terms and conditions. That means that they won’t be discretionary or vulnerable to revocation. It recognises the fact that anyone who experiences domestic or family violence needs the support of their workplace to recover, to settle, to organise children, to attend doctor’s appointments, court dates and so on. Making this understanding and support explicit means that those who need it won’t have to struggle to take it.
Like sick leave and carer’s leave before them, we will always hope they are rarely needed, but the development of these workplace entitlements will allow all employees to balance their work life with particularly stressful and difficult parts of their personal life.
As we move closer and closer to the introduction of a paid parental leave system in this country I am reminded how powerful individual steps can be. Over the last decade, more and more businesses in Australia have realised how important it is to ensure that they can attract and retain talented women. In increasing numbers, these organisations have included parental leave in their terms and conditions. Parental leave has moved from a discretionary policy, to an employment condition enshrined in some organisations’ workplace agreements and we are about to see it backed up by Federal legislation and available for all women all over Australia.
I am hopeful that these sorts of provisions will be part of a continued commitment to violence prevention. I want to congratulate UNSW on hosting the Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse, a wonderful organisation which makes a crucial contribution to the issue nationally. We are lucky to have them.
UNSW’s preparedness to see domestic and family violence as a workplace issue, as an issue that affects both employers and employees will elevate the issue in university’s community and the community more broadly.
The PSA/CPSU’s leadership on this issue and UNSW willingness to enter into these discussions will contribute enormously to the efforts of employers all over Australia to address violence against women and I hope that what we are seeing today is the beginning of a new language and a new model for committed employers. I look forward to being able to share this with all the employers I meet and the international human rights community more broadly.
[1] Australian Bureau of
Statistics, Personal Safety, Australia, 2005 (Reissue), Catalogue No.
4906.0 (2006), p 35. At www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4906.0Main+Features12005%20(Reissue)?OpenDocument (viewed 12 April 2010)
[2] S
Franzway, C Zufferey and D Chung, ‘Domestic violence and women’s
employment’, Paper presented at Our Work, Our Lives Conference, September,
Adelaide (2007).
[3] Human
Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 'Men's focus group 3'
(2007)
[4] Human Rights and Equal
Opportunity Commission, 'Launceston Chamber of Commerce Business Roundtable'
(2007)
[5] Human Rights and Equal
Opportunity Commission, 'Men's focus group 4'
(2008)
[6] Human Rights and Equal
Opportunity Commission, 'Brisbane Community Consultation' (2008)
