Health

12 HE ALTH • Winter 2020 T he workplace has long been many different things for many different people – a space to chase one's career ambitions, to network, pursue passions, make ends meet, among others – but for some, it's been a safety net. An incidental characteristic of workplaces, however they look, whether a traditional office or restaurant, retail space or something in between, is they operate as tacit safety checks, a planned slice of the day where individuals leave their homes and enter, in some way or another, a more controlled environment. For survivors of domestic violence, this time and distance from their living space can be a lifeline; with the coronavirus pandemic shutting many of these workplaces down, and rampant unemployment and furloughs, that lifeline has been severed. "When we were employers in person, it was a lot easier to know what was happening with our employees," said Debra Robbin, executive director at Jane Doe Inc., a statewide coalition of organizations which work to combat sexual and domestic violence, based in Boston. "It's really hard to be a responsible employer," Robbin said, "when you can't walk around and check on people and see how they're doing." Although there are still many taboos around discussing domestic violence at work, for fear of overstepping interpersonal boundaries, waking up and physically going to a workplace several days a week makes sure, at the most basic level, that a survivor is seen by other people on a regular basis, and provides a buffer against one of the most common elements of abuse: isolation. Oftentimes, the work provides an opportunity for survivors to connect with help, whether by calling a hotline, legal authorities, or even friends. "A lot of your protocols and the ways of your organizational culture might have changed, but the victims keep on coming, so how are workplaces going to adapt to this new reality?" Robbin asked. A common problem, complicated According to data published by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, a quarter of women experience some form of intimate partner violence in their lifetime, as well as nearly one in 10 men. Under the CDC definition, intimate partner violence includes physical violence, sexual violence, stalking and/or psychological aggression. Although domestic violence may only be one aspect of a person's life, it can carry devastating consequences. Over one-third of female survivors and 11% of male survivors experience physical injury, and it can also lead to longer-term health problems, like heart, nervous system, reproduction, muscle and bones conditions, which the CDC reports are often chronic. Mental health issues are a concern, particularly with regard to depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Moreover, the risk of dying from domestic violence cannot be understated: When authorities are able to determine the relationship between victims of homicide, more than half of female victims are killed by an intimate partner, according to the CDC. In turn, nearly one in five homicides victims in general are killed by intimate partners. All of this data, which is well- e initial drop in reported domestic violence at the start of the COVID pandemic has given way to a jump in reported cases, with concerns about the holidays looming Increased violence • By Monica Busch Debra Robbin, executive director at Jane Doe Inc. ILLUSTRATION/DREAMSTIME.COM

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