According to the World Health Organization, almost one third of women worldwide who have been in a relationship report having experienced some form of physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner. Domestic violence can have a hugely detrimental impact on the life of an individual, including their working life. Among others, it can cause career interruption, absenteeism, lack of work fulfilment, salary stagnation.
This report comparatively explores workplace laws to protect and support victims of domestic violence in six jurisdictions: Australia, New Zealand, Canada (Ontario), UK (England & Wales), Italy and France.
The research seeks to address two questions. First, what legal mechanisms exist to protect or support workers in relation to family and domestic violence. Second, whether employers have a positive obligation to take steps to prevent domestic violence from occurring in the workplace and/or to raise awareness about the risks and warning signs of domestic violence. Although domestic violence can affect women, men, transgender persons and children, this research focuses specifically on domestic violence against women.
We hope this report will be a powerful tool to help Led By HER, the Kering Foundation and other like-minded organisations to push employers and policymakers to support victims of domestic violence through better laws and workplace policies.
This report was a joint initiative of Led By HER and the Kering Foundation, created with support from TrustLaw, the global pro bono network of the Thomson Reuters Foundation with the global coordination efforts and pro bono contributions of Dentons, together with pro bono assistance from Thomson Reuters (Australia).
Based on this report a policy brief was also created, you can access the policy brief here.