Responding to domestic violence within the workplace: reflections and recommendations from the DVFREE workplace initiative in Aotearoa New Zealand

ABSTRACT

While the world of work has long been juxtaposed against private, domestic spaces, in recent years the line between the two spheres has become increasingly blurred. This is especially the case when considering the relationship between domestic violence and the workplace, which is not only affected by the intrusion of domestic violence into the workplace but compounded by the increasing amount of work conducted from home. These intersections between domestic violence and work have been subject to mounting scrutiny in recent years, resulting in calls for policy changes that acknowledge domestic violence to be a workplace issue and which develop an appropriate employer response accordingly. This article offers a case study of DVFREE, a domestic violence workplace program delivered by specialist domestic violence organisation Shine in Aotearoa New Zealand. DVFREE adopts a systems-approach to instantiate and support structural change within an organisation. We consider the New Zealand specific-context, before offering a series of practice recommendations that address why and how employers can support employees experiencing domestic violence, drawing our conclusions from knowledge gained through the implementation of the DVFREE initiative. This knowledge offers an important, hitherto largely absent, perspective to research in this field, providing much-needed practical steps for employers.

KEYWORDS:

• Domestic violence policy
• family violence
• intimate partner violence
• workplace safety planning
• employment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Holly Carrington

Holly Carrington led the development of the DVFREE programme since 2016, and created the DVFREE Tick workplace accreditation and DVFREE Guidelines on policy and procedures. She has delivered domestic violence training to judges, police, corporates, and many others; researched and written Shine policy submissions; and been a media spokesperson on TV, print and radio. In 2020, Holly was a Westpac Women of Influence Community Hero Award finalist.

Rachel Williamson

Dr Rachel Williamson is an academic and educator based in Christchurch, New Zealand. Her doctoral research investigated representations of maternal ambivalence in contemporary literary and visual texts. She has presented her research at international conferences and published on maternal regret; the impacts of neoliberalism and colonisation on indigenous motherhood; and mother-daughter relations. Rachel’s current research continues to explore the intersections between representational forms and embodied gendered experiences.