South Carolina was ranked earlier this year by the Domestic Violence Advisory Committee as “the nation’s sixth-worst state” among the rates of women murdered by men.
The Committee also found that the state’s “domestic-violence homicide rate” is more than 1.5 times the national average. Even with such troubling information, some employers have chosen to shy away from addressing domestic violence as an issue impacting the workplace. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, however, relatives or domestic partners were the most frequent assailant in work-related homicides of women (40 percent).
Given such statistics, South Carolina employers should review current policies and practices to determine whether domestic violence education and prevention resources are available to employees. If not, employers can begin to incorporate resources into the workplace by taking proactive steps, such as:
While no plan is an absolute guarantee that domestic violence will not impact a workplace, having resources available and proactively addressing the issue is a key step employers can take in a continued effort to provide a safe workplace not only for victims but also for their coworkers.