25 November 2016

Living free from violence is a human right

A new Human Rights Commission campaign to recognise the impacts of domestic violence in the workplace can be immediately addressed by the Government by adopting Green Party MP Jan Logie’s member bill.

The members’ bill, the Domestic Violence Victims’ Protection Bill, provides for domestic violence leave to support staff. The Warehouse and some Government agencies, like the GCSB, are proactively offering this as good employers.

“Maintaining employment helps women by supporting their independence and keeping them linked into their community. The Government could adopt my members bill today to ensure domestic violence survivors are safe at work and well supported when they need it,” Green Party social development spokesperson Jan Logie said.

“I am proud to stand with the Human Rights Commission campaigning for a positive changes that will make a difference for women.

“My members’ bill would extend leave provisions to include domestic violence and would strengthen women’s independence by protecting her at work.

“The Government, and employers, should be actively engaging on domestic violence protections such as flexible work hours, flexible work locations, security practices, in-house training, and referrals.

“We know that work at a regular time and place can make work a target for the abuser, but with a little employer support that can be changed to support the employee.

“Your level of safety shouldn’t depend on what sort of job you have. There are great employers picking this up, but every women deserves proper protections from domestic violence.

“Under current health and safety laws, all employers should be considering domestic violence as a potential workplace hazard and taking steps to make it easier to identify if people in the workplace are affected,” Ms Logie said.

More information about the bill is available here https://home.greens.org.nz/bills/domestic-violence-victims-protection-bill

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