Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Creating a Safer, Smarter Workplace - Addressing Domestic Violence


Things sure have been busy here. . .yesterday we held The Allstate Foundation Pre-Conference Webinar for the S2 – Safer, Smarter Workplace Conference. It was great. . we had employers and EAPs and researchers and others from all over the country at all levels of expertise regarding domestic violence as a workplace issue participating in this interactive 2 hour forum.
We are going to have so much going on at the S2 conference that we really wanted to make sure we have everyone on the same page before we get there, so we did the “pre-conference webinar” to get the business case made for employers and EAPs regarding domestic violence.

And because of the interactive text chat feature (thank you CALCASA) people could chime in with things like “Don’t forget it happens to men and same-sex relationships. . .” and people could make connections and discuss in the midst of the presentations.

In spite of travel restrictions which are REALLY affecting businesses, we are going to have a great turnout for this first of its kind conference. And we will be “unveiling” new research on the topic of domestic violence and EAPs. . .and the people at the webinar were very enthused about that.

We’ll also be presenting real life practices from employers and EAPs working together who are working together “on the ground” right now to effectively assist employees. And we will showcase some case studies of real situations and how the companies dealt with those from HR, Security, EAP, etc. . .so we can all see the different ways different employers and EAPs help employees dealing with domestic violence.

And we will be creating a “blueprint for action”. . .next steps EAPs and employers can take to really make a difference.
And then it hits you right at home why you are doing this. . . a 19 year old young woman in a small community very near here was killed in a domestic violence situation here on Tuesday.
That is why we are having the "Silent Witness" display from Kaiser Permanente there at the conference. . .to make sure we all remember exactly why we are there. And who we are there for.

1 comment:

josie said...

I am so glad to see so many people involved in this issue that affects so many, many people. It is no longer our mothers or grandmothers secret. Still today women will fall asleep with their teeth clenching the pillow as they swallow their tears in silence after yet another beating. I am a survivor of sexual abuse as a child and domestic violence and I promote awareness for these issues through my poetry. My first book "Reflections of My Battered Life" was the beginning of my personal healing which took over 30 years to begin and my second book "Of Flesh and Bone I am Woman Surviving Abuse" is yet another phase of my healing which not only captures my journey but has also become the voice for many women who have attended my poetry readings and have whispered their pain to me. My third manuscript "Off the Beaten Path" has yet to be published. My poetry is meant to help begin the healing process for those who still have no voice but I know I have enough voice in me to carry as many as my sisters who want to hold on to me. One day I am hoping that a big publisher will be interested in my work but in the mean time I will continue to do what I am doing. I am Josie Mixon and I am a survivor. gdmrngbtfl@yahoo.com