MacGregor Jennifer C D, Wathen C Nadine, MacQuarrie Barbara J
Faculty of Information & Media Studies, Western University, London, ON, Canada; PreVAiL Research Network, Canada; Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
Saf Health Work. 2016 Sep;7(3):244-50. doi: 10.1016/j.shaw.2016.01.003. Epub 2016 Feb 6.
Domestic violence (DV) is associated with serious consequences for victims, children, and families, and even national economies. An emerging literature demonstrates that DV also has a negative impact on workers and workplaces. Less is known about the extent to which people are aware of coworkers' experiences of DV.
Using data from a pan-Canadian sample of 8,429 men and women, we examine: (1) awareness of coworker DV victimization and perpetration; (2) the warning signs of DV victimization and perpetration recognized by workers; (3) whether DV victims are more likely than nonvictims to recognize DV and its warning signs in the workplace; and (4) the impacts of DV that workers perceive on victims'/perpetrators' ability to work.
Nearly 40% of participants believed they had recognized a DV victim and/or perpetrator in the workplace and many reported recognizing more than one warning sign. DV victims were significantly more likely to report recognizing victims and perpetrators in the workplace, and recognized more DV warning signs. Among participants who believed they knew a coworker who had experienced DV, 49.5% thought the DV had affected their coworker's ability to work. For those who knew a coworker perpetrating DV, 37.9% thought their coworker's ability to work was affected by the abusive behavior.
Our findings have implications for a coordinated workplace response to DV. Further research is urgently needed to examine how best to address DV in the workplace and improve outcomes for victims, perpetrators, and their coworkers.
家庭暴力对受害者、儿童、家庭乃至国民经济都会造成严重后果。新兴文献表明，家庭暴力对工人和工作场所也有负面影响。人们对同事遭受家庭暴力经历的知晓程度尚不清楚。
利用来自加拿大全国范围的8429名男性和女性样本的数据，我们研究：（1）对同事遭受家庭暴力和实施家庭暴力情况的知晓度；（2）工人所识别出的家庭暴力受害和施暴的警示信号；（3）家庭暴力受害者是否比非受害者更有可能识别工作场所中的家庭暴力及其警示信号；（4）工人所感知到的家庭暴力对受害者/施暴者工作能力的影响。
近40%的参与者认为他们在工作场所中识别出了家庭暴力受害者和/或施暴者，许多人报告识别出不止一个警示信号。家庭暴力受害者更有可能报告在工作场所中识别出受害者和施暴者，并且识别出更多家庭暴力警示信号。在那些认为自己认识一位遭受过家庭暴力同事的参与者中，49.5%的人认为家庭暴力影响了这位同事的工作能力。对于那些认识实施家庭暴力同事的人来说，37.9%的人认为其同事的工作能力受到了虐待行为的影响。
我们的研究结果对工作场所针对家庭暴力的协调应对具有启示意义。迫切需要进一步研究，以探讨如何最好地应对工作场所中的家庭暴力，并改善受害者、施暴者及其同事的情况。
