When Domestic Violence Comes to the Workplace

On Thursday, October 1, 2013, a man walked into his girlfriend's Magee, MS, workplace, argued with her and stabbed her to death. Domestic violence does not stay home when victims go to work. It can follow them to their jobs, resulting in violence in the workplace. Or it can spill over into the workplace when a woman is distracted by threatening phone calls, absent because of injuries, or less productive from extreme stress. Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence (MCADV) is holding a free Brown Bag Lunch Discussion about domestic violence in the workplace on Thursday, June 5, 2014, from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., at Eudora Welty Library in downtown Jackson. The discussion will be conducted by Heather Wagner, Special Assistant Attorney General at Mississippi Attorney General?s Office. Wagner will cover such topics as recognizing warning signs of violence in the workplace, understanding the importance of workplace policies that are victim-centered, and understanding available resources and referrals for victims of domestic violence as well as offenders. ?When the medical cost of domestic violence is in the hundreds of millions of dollars, when domestic violence affects absenteeism and productivity, when harassment and violence can follow employees to work, domestic violence is a workplace issue,? explains Wendy Mahoney, Executive Director of Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence. ?We need to be equipped to help victims, and hopefully eliminate workplace violence altogether. Victims need to know they have resources, and that we?re here to help. Together, we have the strength.? The DV in the workplace Discussion is for social workers, human resources managers, office managers, supervisors, counselors, and anyone interested in understanding how to prevent or intervene in domestic abuse of a co-worker or employee. The next Brown Bag Lunch Discussion ?Domestic Violence and People with Disabilities? is scheduled for August 7, 2014. It will also be held at Eudora Welty Library at 300 N State Street, in Jackson, Miss. There is no cost to attend, but the Coalition asks would-be attendees to RSVP with name and contact information to 1-800-898-3234 or support@mcadv.org.