Local Context Matters

Abstract

There are strong moral and economic imperatives for employers to address the effects of gender-based violence (GBV) on their employees and business operations. Over the last two decades, an increasing number of organizations, predominantly in Western countries, have promoted workplace strategies that address the ways in which gendered violence or distinct subsets of GBV-including domestic violence (DV), sexual violence (SV), intimate partner violence (IPV), violence against women (VAW), and family and sexual violence (FSV)-can influence the performance and productivity of employees in their workplace. Different approaches to employee disclosures of gendered violence may include various combinations of a range of organizational responses, including, but not limited to, developing specific changes to employment, occupational health and safety, and antidiscrimination legislation; workplace entitlements secured through collective bargaining; the unilateral adoption and application of policies and procedures by employers; and workplace-based awareness raising programs (Hameed, 2014a). Specific workplace strategies may be developed and tailored to support individual employees who are victims of gendered violence within the workplace such as safety planning; referral to medical, psychosocial, legal, and protective services; (paid) time off work to access those services; financial support; and provisions to ensure nondiscrimination and employees' privacy. Potentially, workplace strategies may also be implemented to manage employees who are perpetrators of violence. However, to date, little work has been undertaken in this area. Together, these various workplace strategies, their distinct approaches, and various components benchmark current and evolving workplace 657142S GOXXX10.