Domestic Abuse is everybody’s business
Domestic abuse costs the England and Wales economies’ over £65 billion a year. Social and economic costs such as loss of productivity for employers, impact on career opportunities for victim/survivors, harm to children, housing, and of course the cost to the NHS and Police.
• Over 1 in 10 of those who experience domestic abuse report that the abuse continues in the workplace. In the majority of instances this is through harassing or abusive emails or phone calls.
• For almost 50% of people, domestic abuse at work takes the form of their partner turning up at their workplace or stalking them outside their workplace.
• For 16% of those experiencing domestic violence, their abusive partner works in the same place of work as them.
• Nearly 9 out of 10 workers experiencing domestic abuse said it impacted their performance at work.
• Over 50% of those experiencing domestic abuse have to take time off work as a result of abuse and nearly 50% were sometimes late to work.
• Over 40% said it had affected their ability to get to work because they were injured, threatened or had their car keys or money taken by their abuser to prevent them getting to work.
42,000 adults in a recent Hertfordshire survey said that they had experienced domestic abuse in the last year. 16.6% of all Herts Constabulary recorded crimes are domestic abuse. On average there are approximately 35 domestic abuse related crimes and a further 59 domestic abuse incidents each day. Domestic abuse has been happening right under our noses, within the workplace as well as behind closed doors.
Herts Domestic Abuse Helpline (HDAH) is a free, confidential support and signposting service. Since 2002 it has often been the first port of call for a victim, survivor, their friends or family, their GP or a perpetrator seeking help. The Helpline receives over 2,500 calls a year. It also runs a confidential email service, holds educational sessions and raises awareness through campaigns and resources distributed within the community.
In June, HDAH received a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. This award is the equivalent of an MBE for the voluntary sector and recognises the contribution to the community by all the volunteer call takers and Trustees, some of whom have been with the Helpline for many years. It is a huge honour and we are all very proud. Receiving the award this year is even more exciting, as we celebrate our 20th anniversary.
We would like to invite you, as local businesses, to help raise awareness of domestic abuse in your workplaces and to raise funds to keep the Helpline running by taking part in our ‘Tea and Cake for HDAH’ campaign. All the money raised will go directly to supporting those impacted by domestic abuse.
If your business would like to host ‘Tea and Cake for HDAH please go to the ‘Help Us’ page for more information.