SAELESE HAYNES

Dear AFETT,

What can I do to assist my employee who is being verbally and physically abused by her husband?

I do not want to get involved, but it is difficult to ignore her silent cry for help.

She has been a fantastic worker, but I can see how the abuse has been taking a toll both on her as well as in our work environment. We have a small work team and try to support each other.

Recently, male members of staff had to rescue this young woman and physically remove her from a violent situation near our office.

This feels far too close to home.

We are all scared, both for her and her children, and we are also afraid for ourselves in the event of a situation escalating in our place of business.

Do you have any resources to share in terms of next steps?

Dear Kim,

This year has not started on a good note for many of our women as we continue to be beleaguered by terrible and traumatic headlines.

Recent statistics tell us that gender-based and intimate partner violence continues to be on the rise.

Thank you for taking this step to seek support for you and your team, and we hope that you all continue to be safe.

Encourage affected employees to seek help

One of the first steps can be to suggest or recommend counselling for the young lady as well as any other employees directly or indirectly involved in the situation. If your business provides employee assistance programme services or the like, I would suggest you remind employees of its importance and how to access those services. If you do not have a workplace sponsored programme, it may be a good idea to share resources, both with the individual in question and generally on domestic violence hotlines, shelters, counselling services and legal services. You can reach out to us directly via email for material and contacts.

[caption id="attachment_1065337" align="alignnone" width="722"] Saelese Haynes, the director of research and public advocacy at AFETT -[/caption]

In terms of dealing with the issue on a team level, in all instances and as far as possible, only share private information with others on a need-to-know basis and with the consent of the individual affected. This will assist in ensuring privacy and confidentiality.

Ensure safety at work

I heard you loud and clear when you mentioned that you and other employees are concerned about the safety of the young lady in question as well as your own.

Consider reviewing and possibly implementing additional safety measures at the workplace, such as ensuring that the office is secure and employees know what to do in case of an emergency.

Provide your team with protocols on who gains access to designated spaces within the workplace and when.

You can also brief your security team on any proposed threats as well as the expectations for resolving them.

If this is within your control or recommendation, you can also offer the young lady flexible working hours or the option to work from home if it will allow her the opportunity to stay in a safe place and complete her duti