A Day in the Life: Workplace Responses to Domestic Violence is a comprehensive three-hour training program designed to help employers effectively address the issue of domestic violence in the workplace setting.

The annual cost of lost productivity due to domestic violence is estimated as $727.8 million with over 7.9 million paid workdays lost per year! (Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States, 2003. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)

Of abused employees:

• 96% experience problems at work due to abuse
• 74% are harassed while at work by their abusers
• 56% are late to work
• 28% leave work early
• 54% miss entire days of work

(American Institute on Domestic Violence)
You can increase workplace safety and productivity by learning to recognize the warning signs, responding appropriately, and referring employees for assistance.

The “A Day in the Life” program was the outcome of a domestic violence homicide that occurred on November 8, 2001 in Centre County. The homicide was reviewed in 2004 by the Centre County Domestic Fatality Review Committee. A lifeline of the victim was developed from the committee’s findings, based on interviews with people who had been in contact with either the victim or the defendant prior to the murder and information collected by the State College Police Department for the criminal investigation. The victim’s parents, her co-workers, law enforcement officers and court personnel met to share their perspectives on what happened in the weeks, months, and years leading up to her death. One of the recommendations made by the fatality review committee was to design and implement a training program for employers to assist employees in the recognition and response to co-workers experiencing domestic violence.

The training consists of three modules.

Module One provides basic information about the dynamics of domestic violence, including the power and control wheel and cycle of violence. The module also answers frequently asked questions such as “Why doesn’t she leave?” and “How could I know if a co-worker was in a violent relationship?”.

Module Two is the lifeline case study of a domestic violence homicide which is based on information gathered from the fatality review and the criminal investigation.

Module Three is designed to address domestic violence issues in the workplace. Participants will learn how to talk to suspected victims, how to identify appropriate referral resources, and how to provide assistance to battered women. The module will advise employers and co-workers of both the abuser and the victim.

This training will:

• Raise awareness and understanding of domestic violence and how it affects people at home and work
• Offer practical tools to support and respond to abused employees
• Provide information on resources
• Motivate you to get involved and become part of the solution at work and in the community

This training is available to Centre County businesses and agencies. For more information or to schedule a training, contact the Director of Outreach & Education at 814.238.7066 or edteam@centresafe.org. For an on-line overview of the training, go to www.domesticviolence.psu.edu.

A Day in the Life is currently being presented to Penn State faculty and staff at University Park and the 13 Commonwealth Campuses through a grant by the Verizon Foundation in partnership with Penn State Public Broadcasting.