To mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Women and Equalities Minister Helen Grant hosted an event to encourage business leaders to put plans in place to support staff experiencing domestic violence.

One in four women and one in six men are affected by domestic violence and abuse during their adult lives. Furthermore, domestic violence and abuse costs UK businesses in excess of £1.9 billion each year in lost economic output from injuries alone. So it’s crucially important that the workplace is somewhere that victims can seek help and support.

In June, the Department of Health launched a new responsibility deal pledge asking organisations to sign up to engage with staff about this issue, and to commit to provide help and support to those staff who need it. Twenty major employers have so far made that commitment.

Helen Grant said:

“The government is committed to tackling all forms of violence against a women and girls which is why we have provided up to £40 million in ring fenced funding, up until 2015, for specialist local support services sexual violence support services, rape crisis centres, the national domestic violence helplines and stalking helplines.

“We want to help victims to get the best possible protection and support and the workplace is no exception to this. That’s why we are urging employers to commit to helping their staff spot the signs of abuse and to have plans in place to support employees who are facing abuse.”

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v2.0.

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