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27 August 2020: Bad Company – understanding Singapore’s workplace bullying problem

Verbal abuse. Unfair treatment. A company culture rife with cliques and exclusion. Everyone has a story about a “horrible boss”, or a toxic office environment that sucks the joy out of employees. These experiences are so common, they beg the question: Have we normalised bullying at work?

Workplace bullying is a pernicious phenomenon that significantly affects the Singaporean workforce, regardless of industry. Even those working from home aren’t safe, as bullying can take place over digital platforms. Women in particular are disproportionately targeted by workplace bullies, often being made to feel inferior purely on the basis of their gender – AWARE’s Workplace Harrasment and Discrimination Advisory has seen 68 calls pertaining to workplace bullying since last September.

Bullying takes a serious psychological toll on its victims, producing anxiety and depression. Of course, it can also hurt an individual’s career progression, as well as a company’s productivity.

How do we begin to tackle such a widespread problem? For starters, both employers and employees alike need to have a robust understanding of what behaviours are unacceptable in professional settings. Join AWARE and Catalyse on Thursday, 27 August for a conversation on workplace bullying. We’ll highlight the behaviours—both overt and subtle—that constitute bullying, and discuss options for at-risk employees.

Maybe you’ve experienced workplace bullying or other forms of harassment. Or you’re a HR professional looking to improve your own company guidelines. Or you simply want a better understanding of this destructive phenomenon, so as to be a more supportive bystander. All are welcome at this in-depth discussion.

Date: Thursday, 27 August 2020

Time: 8pm

Venue: Online (via Zoom)

Fee: Pay what you can (suggested donation of $5 per head)

Register here!

Our panellists

Mamta Melwani

Mamta Melwani is the Senior Executive leading AWARE’s Workplace Harrasment and Discrimination Advisory. She received a B.S. in Public Affairs and Policy from Baruch College, New York, and worked with the New York State Legislature for policy reform on women’s rights issues, including sexual violence, health care and education. She advocates for women to have access to work that provides protection from gender-based discrimination and harassment.

Caroline Callow

Caroline Callow is a Senior Facilitator with Catalyse Consulting, where she leads training on workplace harassment for companies in Singapore. She is an Occupational Psychologist by training and an active member of Singapore’s OD Network, Caroline is committed to building respectful, inclusive and high-performing systems in which people can achieve their fullest potential. She holds a Masters degree from Birkbeck, University of London. She is registered with the British Psychological Society (BPS) and holds the BPS’s psychological and psychometric qualification in test use.

Godelieve Van Dooren

Godelieve van Dooren is a Partner at Mercer and leads several industry Human Resources networks (comprising of large High-Tech, Life Sciences, FMCG, Chemical, Retail and Hospitality companies) where she works with leading clients to shape progressive and sustainable HR programmes. She also oversees Diversity & Inclusion initiatives for Mercer for ASEAN, and supports organisations in implementing D&I policies in the region.

Asiyah Arif

Asiyah is a specialist dispute resolution lawyer who acts for clients in sensitive high-value commercial disputes and advises on employment matters. She led AWARE’s SHOut! Campaign to lobby for greater protection against workplace sexual harassment, and its We Can! Campaign to change social attitudes towards violence against women. Asiyah is committed to elevating the voices and stories of minority women in Singapore, and uplifting women from all backgrounds and walks of life.

How to Navigate the Financial Realities of Divorce: Part One (Pre-Divorce)

written by Bernard Foong and edited by Ashley Chua

Divorce is often a daunting process. It takes up time, energy and money, and demands a lot of emotional resources.

Regardless of whether or not you are prepared for it, the legal and financial reality of the process can hit hard for all parties. However, some basic knowledge of financial management and planning can empower you to know your rights and options during divorce. You could start planning to have funds put away – for expenses during divorce, and for financial needs after divorce.

This three-part article provides advice on three phases of divorce:

In this article, we will cover the pre-divorce phase. We recognise that women are often in a disadvantaged position financially and socially during divorce procedures. Nevertheless, the below information would be helpful to anyone contemplating divorce. (Lastly, divorce looks different for every individual. While these financial tips should point you in the right direction, you should seek more specific advice from experts familiar with your situation.)

PRE-DIVORCE PHASE

This is the phase where divorce proceedings have yet to commence. Your relationship may have strained, and you suspect that divorce may be in the cards soon. Or you may be contemplating divorce and realising that financial constraints are a big factor in the decision.

It is a good practice to start off by:

  • Understanding the divorce process and its cost
  • Organising and documenting the family’s financial situation
  • Understanding your financial, emotional and practical needs
  • Consider a maintenance order
  • Seeking professional support for legal, financial and emotional matters
  • Planning for yourself and your children


1. Understanding the Divorce Process

Many women who have called AWARE’s Helpline and/or attended our legal clinics have shared that they feel lost in a maze of legal procedures once divorce proceedings commence. Tight timelines need to be met. There are numerous trial conferences to attend and documents to be submitted. Sometimes, confusion about these processes even leads to extraneous costs being incurred. For example, researching and comparing multiple lawyers and their costs can greatly help your planning.

Uncontested Divorce Typical Cost Contested Divorce Typical Cost
$1,500 – $3,000 $10,000 – $35,000
Typical Legal Hourly Rate
 Partner: $800/hr
Senior Associate: $500/hr
Junior Associate: $350/hr

*taken from singaporelegaladvice.com dated 21 October 2019

There are also other resources available online for divorce processes and costs. Check out these two:


2. Organising and Documenting Family Financial Situation

Gathering key evidence and documents before filing for a divorce is a good idea – not just so you can plan for your post-divorce circumstances. It’s also useful so that your lawyer and the Court can decide how to apportion matrimonial assets and debts, and whether to award maintenance for the wife and children.

Documents Gather this to show:
Spouse’s IRAS statement Spouse sources of income
Spouse’s Will, Property Deed, Bank Statement Spouse assets
Spouse’s Credit Card Statement Spouse debts
Groceries, Utilities, Internet, Mobile Bills Family maintenance
Vehicle Maintenance Receipts Family maintenance
Meals and Clothing Expenses Personal maintenance
Insurances and Savings Policies Personal and children maintenance
Tuition Bills, School Fees, Education Children maintenance

(Under the Women’s Charter, matrimonial assets are: assets acquired by one or both parties during the marriage, assets used by any spouse or their children for various purposes, or assets acquired before the marriage but substantially improved during the marriage. Gifts or inheritance [and things that have not been substantially improved during the marriage] are not considered matrimonial assets.)

Apart from the aforementioned documents, if you were not employed/gave up employment to contribute towards home and supporting your family, do consider your own employment opportunities post divorce. In post-divorce financial planning, employment can be an important stream of income for financial sustainability. Hence, at this stage, it could also be timely to revisit your educational and prior work experiences in anticipation of (re-)joining the workforce.


3. Understanding Your Financial, Emotional and Practical Needs

In divorce, individuals typically are put into a position where they need to juggle multiple financial, emotional and practical considerations. Often, the cost of litigation comes up against other current and future financial needs, one’s emotional health, the needs of children, and many other factors.

Here are some questions to consider at this stage:

  • Should I self-represent or seek out a lawyer? How much time would a divorce take up in my daily life if I were to self-represent? How much more costly would a lawyer be?
  • How might the divorce process affect my work hours and my childcare schedule?
  • How might having a lawyer support my emotional needs?
  • Would contesting the divorce be affordable?

To reiterate, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. You are the expert on your own situation. The goal when planning for divorce is simply to know what’s best for you with information, guidance and support.


4. Consider a Maintenance Order

In anticipation of the expenses and changes in financial situation, you may consider applying for a maintenance order for yourself, and for your children.

It is crucial to be informed of the procedure so that you do not waste unnecessary time and resources trying to figure out the next course of action. Refer to the diagramme for more information.

 

5. Seek Professional Support

After doing some of your own research on divorce, understanding your family’s current and future financial, emotional and practical needs, as well as documenting your finances, you can also seek professional support.

If you are uncertain, and if you can, it is beneficial to speak to professionals in their specialised trade – legal, financial counselling, emotional counselling.

If you need less pricey alternatives to private legal counsel, here are some of them:

  • Legal clinics islandwide provide free legal advice sessions, ranging from 20-40 minutes. The AWARE legal clinics provide you with a one-time free 20-minute legal clinic session. Call 1800-777-5555 to get a referral. You can also check your eligibility with other Singapore legal clinics at legalclinics.sg
  • The Legal Aid Bureau provides pro bono legal aid to Singaporeans and PRs for a number of legal issues. Contact them to check your eligibility. Otherwise, foreigners can contact ACMI to check if they are able to provide legal aid.
  • Some private firms offer a short free or discounted first consultation.

Counselling services are also available islandwide at counselling centres, Family Service Centres and specialised social services, such as Divorce Specialist Support Centres. AWARE also provides individual counselling for women. To seek counselling support at AWARE, call 1800-777-5555 to get a referral.

By regulation, assisting in divorce financial matters is not within the scope of responsibility of a financial planner in Singapore (this may be different in other countries). However, you may reach out to a financial planner for general financial planning that arises out of a divorce – for example, documenting your family’s financial situation in general, making changes to your insurance plans or selling your assets.


6. Planning for Yourself and Your Children

In the next two installments, we will be talking about financial planning during divorce and for your life post-divorce. You’ll consider the following questions:

  • What new financial needs will my children and I have after divorce? How can I ask for financial support for these needs from my ex-spouse?
  • What new environment do I wish my children to grow up in? How can I make provisions for it? (Eg. living arrangements, childcare needs, etc.)
  • How can I protect my financial assets during and post-divorce?

Bernard is a financial educator who strongly believes in the rights of everyone to access information on financial planning. Witnessing his mother’s financial and emotional vulnerability from her marital failure, spurred him to use his financial knowledge to support women considering divorce. He currently volunteers with AWARE’s CARE services to raise awareness about the need for financial planning for women contemplating or undergoing divorce.

 

Andrew’s story: Living without his wife, caregiver and emotional support

Our “Your Stories” series are submissions shared with us via email or in one-on-one interviews, for the purposes of our research and campaigns. All names have been changed (unless the use of real names was explicitly permitted by the author), and we have sought permission to publish from the authors/interviewees themselves. The opinions expressed in these posts do not represent those of AWARE.

Andrew is a Singaporean man married to a Vietnamese woman, Thao. What he hoped would be a happily ever after (“so long as they shall live”) turned out to be years of turmoil, separation and unanswered questions.

Despite four attempts, Andrew’s appeals to the ICA to secure a Long Term Visit Pass (LTVP) for his wife have been fruitless. This has forced the couple into an emotionally and financially laborious arrangement: They can only be together nine months in a year, in three-month stretches at a time. Each time Thao has to return home to Vietnam, Andrew follows her, which is a drain on his finances due to the two-way airline costs, higher living expenses overseas, and lower monthly salary. (He has to take no-pay leave to go to Vietnam with his wife.)

He had also turned to his MPs (Members of Parliament) for help with appeals to ICA, but has still failed to secure an LTVP for his wife. Despite tremendous efforts to communicate with the ICA about his situation by requesting for interviews and asking how he could address the shortcomings of the applications, all he has received is silence. The uncertainty of the couple’s situation and their prolonged separation from each other has forced them to give up on their plans to conceive, halting their IVF sessions altogether.

Now 75 years old, Andrew is beset with health problems such as an intestinal blockage and eyesight issues arising from his cornea transplant. He is dependent on his wife for care and support. Due to COVID-19 border restrictions and the escalation of cases in both Singapore and Vietnam, his wife has been stuck in Ho Chi Minh for the past five months, leaving Andrew without his primary caregiver and source of emotional support.

The separation between husband and wife has led to increased emotional turmoil for Andrew, and deterioration of his health.

“If I die,” he says, “I would just like to see my wife one last time and tell her how much I love her.”

[Closed] Focus group participants needed: Foreign domestic workers providing eldercare

AWARE will hold an online group discussion on Zoom with foreign domestic workers (FDWs) who look after an elderly person in Singapore. This discussion will take place on Sunday, 6 September 2020, 11am – 1pm.

This discussion is part of our research to understand FDWs’ experiences of caring for the elderly in Singapore. We want to share our current findings with you and get your thoughts on them.

To participate, you must:

  • Currently be looking after an elderly person above 67 years old in Singapore
  • Have been hired between 2018 – 2020
  • Be able to speak comfortably in English
  • Have access to a Zoom account

The elderly person you look after must:

  • Need help with more than one Activity of Daily Living (such as washing, feeding, dressing, transferring, toileting or showering)

OR

  • need help due to a mental condition (dementia, Alzheimer’s, etc.).

All participants in this discussion will be given a $30 NTUC voucher as a token of appreciation.

Click here to apply

If you are interested, or know an FDW who might be, please fill up the form by 31 August 2020. Do feel free to email Kristen at researchintern@aware.org.sg if you have any questions.

Don’t separate transnational couples in Singapore during the pandemic

This letter was originally published in The Straits Times on 3 August 2020.

Immigration policies and travel restrictions brought about by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic are putting transnational families under tremendous stress.

In the last month, the Association of Women for Action and Research has seen two cases of transnational couples, made up of a Singaporean citizen and a non-resident, who are at risk of being physically separated from each other.

In both cases, the non-resident spouse has failed to secure a long-term visit pass (LTVP), and the short-term pass (30 days, renewable up to three times) the spouse is on is expiring.

This leaves them scrambling for alternatives to guarantee their stay here. If their passes expire and they fail to get an extension – granted on a case-by-case basis by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) – these migrant spouses would be forced to leave Singapore.

However, travel restrictions and the limited number of flights now make it difficult for them to even return to their home country. Those with children risk being separated from them. What should these families be expected to do in such a situation?

The ICA typically does not reveal why an LTVP application has failed. Even in non-pandemic times, this caused great uncertainty for transnational families. Without an LTVP, migrant spouses also do not have the right to work.

In these exceptional times, we call for the authorities to be more compassionate to these families. All migrant spouses of Singaporean citizens should automatically be on the Long-Term Visit Pass-Plus. Those whose passes are expiring or due for renewal during this period of strict travel restrictions should receive an automatic extension.

Chong Ning Qian

Senior Executive of Research

AWARE

15, 22 and 29 August 2020: Birds & Bees, A Workshop for Parents About Sex Education

“This was valuable… it made me reflect on my own values regarding sex and what I may project onto my children.”

“It opens up our inhibitions and gives us real opportunities to put [our thoughts into] words.”

“Often boys are let off the hook, but I think they should be mindful and learn about boundaries, especially in this day and age when lines are blurred and there’s so much to access online.”

“Can they do this in school for our children?”

– Previous Birds & Bees workshop attendees

Most parents believe that it is important to talk to their children about sex, but many are uncertain how to do it. But what happens when you keep putting it off until the children are “older”? Where do your children get answers to questions they can’t ask you? (The internet is one such place, and young people say they are most likely to ask peers and romantic partners.)

Birds & Bees is an experiential workshop for parents, developed by parents, to explore what works for you when talking to your child about romantic relationships and sex. A variety of formats will be used, including opportunities for dialogue, discussion and reflection

Most parents want to be an “ask-able” parent: to be the approachable adult who is open to questions and who their child turns to for answers. Attend this workshop to explore how you can work on developing your own strategies to enhance the trust and bond with your child!

All parents would find the content useful and applicable. For this online workshop, we are giving priority to parents of children aged 10-15 so that the discussions can be more age-targeted.

Places are limited so do sign up quickly!

Date: Saturdays – 15 August , 22 August, 29 August (Participants are expected to attend all three sessions)

Time: 10.00 – 11.30am (1.5 hours)

Workshop Fee: $15 (in total, covering all three sessions)

Survey: After you sign up, you will be asked to complete a short pre-workshop survey about the age(s) and number of your children. This is very important so that parents with children of similar ages can be grouped together to that you will get the most out of the workshop.

Special instructions for online workshop: As small-group discussions will be a big part of the workshop, participants are expected to switch on their video as well as audio whenever possible, and to join in the discussions for maximum benefit.

Refunds and cancellations: Unfortunately we will not be offering refunds. You are expected to attend all three session of the online workshop. In exceptional circumstances, if you are unable to attend the subsequent sessions, you will be able to join the next set of workshops if you write in to publiceducation@aware.org.sg in advance giving your reasons.

**If you would like to join the workshop but cannot make it at this time, please fill in the indication of interest form.

Register here.

Position Filled: Case Manager, Sexual Assault Care Centre (part-time, contract)

We are no longer accepting applicants for this role.

AWARE’s Sexual Assault Care Centre (SACC) is looking for case managers who can support survivors of sexual assault in their journey of recovery, and help the centre with day-to-day functions and programme development. The role also requires significant time spent supporting the SACC team in advocacy and project-based work. You can read more about our Sexual Assault Care Centre here.

Position: Case Manager
Department: CARE – SACC
Commitment: Contract, 60 hours a month
Remuneration: $500 per month
Term: 1 year
Starting date: Immediate

Job Description

  • Conducting intake interviews, client support and management of SACC cases (case work), including providing and arranging for SACC services, as well as timely casework documentation
  • Liaising with authorities, including the police, hospitals and lawyers, to facilitate the above
  • Providing coverage for SACC legal service as part of your role as a case manager and supporting the team where necessary
  • Committing to supervision, case sharing and any trainings related to improvement in quality of service
  • Any other tasks that may be assigned in relation to the position

Requirements

  • Minimum of 2 years of related experience
  • Relevant educational qualifications, like social work, counselling, psychology or related field.
    Training on trauma and Singapore experience is a bonus.
  • Excellent inter-personal, empathy and communication skills in English (verbal and written)
  • Good analytical skills
  • Commitment to confidentiality
  • Superb time-management skills and ability to meet deadlines
  • Strong project planning: highly creative, adaptable and a self-starter
  • Ability to work independently to manage projects
  • Ability to use initiative and judgment to solve problems independently
  • Experience or interest in supporting or empowering individuals
  • Strong belief in gender equality and the values of AWARE
  • Proficient with computers and MS office, especially Excel and Word

Read our privacy policy here.

Please note that due to the large number of applications, only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for an interview. If you have any questions about this position, please email careers@aware.org.sg.

A Recap: Consent – do you get it? Youth perceptions on sexual consent

written by Kristen Teo, AWARE intern

When given hypothetical scenarios, young people in Singapore generally understand when consent is given or not. That was the conclusion of a new survey by AWARE and Ngee Ann Polytechnic of 539 youths, ranging in age from 17 to 25 years.

However when it came to their own real-life experiences, things were not so straightforward. Of the respondents who indicated prior engagement in sexual activity, only slightly more than half stated that they had discussed sexual consent with their most recent partner.

Why is there a disconnect between what youths know about consent in theory, and how they practice consent in their own experiences? What can we do to bridge this gap? These were some of the questions posed during the online event “Consent: Do you get it?”, hosted by AWARE on 25 July 2020. Around 50 attendees tuned in for a couple of hours to talk about how sexual consent can be more complex in reality than we think.

Leading this discussion were three panellists: public policy master’s student and co-president of SafeNUS Carissa Cheow, AWARE’s Birds & Bees workshop facilitator Lee Yi Ting and SACC volunteer lawyer Priscilla Chia. Moderated by AWARE’s Shailey Hingorani, the panel explored how youths today are learning about consent, the limits of sexuality education and some ways to normalise communicating and respecting consent/non-consent.

Survey findings

(Read the presentation, with more on the results, here.)

Understanding of consent

Majority of youths understood when consent had not been given over a range of scenarios, including when consent was withdrawn halfway through an act, or when consent was given under a state of intoxication or under threat. However, some were less sure when it came to situations involving a) underage sex and b) a reluctant partner being coerced or urged to say yes. Men were also more likely than women to identify some scenarios as consensual.

Attitudes towards consent and rape myths

Youths generally held progressive attitudes, though males were more likely than females to agree with problematic statements on consent and rape (for example, “most claims of rape are false”). Still, of concern was the finding that more than 1 in 10 young people believed that victims of sexual assault or rape had to “take some responsibility for what happened to them”.

Personal experiences with communicating consent

Of those who had engaged in some form of sexual activity (16%), majority (85%) said they asked for consent before initiating sexual encounters, but around one in three reported feeling awkward about asking for consent. Only slightly more than half had discussed sexual consent with their (most recent) partner before engaging in sexual activities.

Learning about consent

While almost all young people wanted consent to be taught in schools, less than half said they had actually been taught about it.

Sources of information about consent

Where are youths learning about consent from?

“There is still some level of division [among youth] today, and a lot of it still depends on where we get our information from, and who we discuss it with,” Carissa said.

Panellists posited that the Ministry of Education’s sexuality education programmes’ emphasis on abstinence and legal statutes may be difficult for some students to apply to their lives. As a result, many youth find themselves learning about consent from the internet and social media, or through peer groups. Conversations with friends are ultimately affecting how youth perceive the information they glean about sex from the media or elsewhere. While it is encouraging to see youths proactively talking about consent, panellists agreed that there are issues with learning about consent in such an unstructured manner.

Building on the importance of such conversations, Yi Ting gave examples about how MOE’s sexuality education curriculum may impede open discussion of consent. Speaking from her experience as a former Junior College educator, she noted, “When you’re focusing on abstaining from sex, you’re not really giving space to talking about consent and what it looks lke.”

In the survey, 97% of youths wanted consent to be taught in schools. Instead, Yi Ting recalled from her experience that MOE sexuality education spent more time on the negative consequences girls potentially face when they engage in sex—e.g. pregnancies and STDs—and less time on respectful interactions. Educators also bring in their gendered biases when teaching. One audience member shared that their sexuality education facilitator told girls that they had to be firm in saying “no”, as “boys can be pushy”—placing the onus on girls to avoid sexual violence, instead of on boys to not commit it.

Gaps between knowledge and application

The survey revealed that although many can recognise consent from a third-party perspective, they tend to second-guess themselves when it comes to their own experiences, wondering “Is this consent? Have I obtained consent?”

This is because there are personal stakes in real-life situations, panellists suggested. Many may feel hesitant to turn down a partner’s advances because they don’t want to hurt their partner or ruin the relationship.

In response, Yi Ting pointed out that there is all the more a need to cultivate a culture where people are attuned to various signs of consent and when it is being revoked—such as when a partner expresses that they are no longer feeling good mid-act.

Promoting a culture of consent

Panellists concurred that there needs to be a sustained engagement on multiple levels to construct a strong consent culture. Noting the importance of quality conversations at the peer level, Carissa asked, “How can we start this conversation with more people?”

With regards to education, elements of non-sexual consent can be taught at a young age. For example, parents can teach children that it is OK if they are not comfortable hugging a relative, as opposed to pressuring them to accept such contact. How we practise consent in non-sexual activity affects how we will practice it in sex. As Yi Ting put it, “Sex ed should not just be respected in a few hours of a school year.”

When it comes to social media platforms, we can practise cultivating consent by considering three stages at which consent may be violated: production, distribution and consumption of content. We need to consciously ask ourselves, “Am I implicated in violating someone’s consent in our digital interactions? Am I contributing to a culture of objectification, as opposed to a culture of respect?”

Lawyer Priscilla Chia spoke about the legal definition of consent at Consent: Do you get it?

At the level of the law, there are channels available for individuals to share their concerns with policy-makers. Priscilla suggested that those who wish to see legal reform should write in to their Members of Parliament and make submissions via REACH.

She offered these parting words: “Don’t underestimate the power of yourself, of being part of that conversation. You can be the conduit of change.”

Employers have a role in tackling domestic violence

This commentary was originally published in Business Times on 23 July 2020.

As domestic violence cases surged at the beginning of Singapore’s circuit breaker, attention was duly paid to how family, friends and neighbours could provide support to those at risk of abuse.

However, there is an overlooked group of people who may be an invaluable source of support for victims of violence: employers and colleagues. Society tends to expect us to maintain a separation between our public and private lives. However – as the Covid-19 work-from-home boom has revealed – this divide is something of a fantasy. All the more so when it comes to domestic violence, which has a real and recognisable impact on the workplace.

What does domestic violence have to do with work?

Victims carry their trauma to work

Domestic violence can lead to serious consequences among workers: increased absenteeism and reduced performance. Perpetrators may be restraining their victims from leaving the house, whether physically or via threats. During the circuit breaker, when going to the office was not an option, Sheila had her work laptop destroyed, which made it impossible for her to work from home. She later called Aware’s Women’s Helpline to seek assistance.

Another woman, Tina, called the Helpline to say that, along with other forms of abuse and violence, her husband was intentionally trying to make it difficult for her to work by screaming at her when she was on work calls. Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon tactic to exert power and control over a victim. Besides the physical and psychological impacts of abuse, which can be long-term and crippling, a victim’s professional performance will naturally take a hit in this setting.

Unwanted visitors at the office

Sometimes, the office itself becomes a site of violence and abuse. Perpetrators often harass their victims at work, either in person or by message, e-mail, phone calls and more. Most perpetrators know where their victims work, and know their routines – knowledge that can unfortunately leave an employee vulnerable even after she ends an abusive relationship. A perpetrator may stalk his victim during her commute, or enter her workplace (or the surrounding premises) to harass her.

Research states that the risk of abuse is higher when a victim is entering or exiting the office, without her colleagues around her. Co-workers, clients and other bystanders may even become targets themselves. Many victims of domestic violence end up leaving their jobs. Some try to escape the violence and need time to figure out the next steps (eg. legal options, place of refuge, new bank accounts, etc); others are forced to quit by their abusers, in an effort to isolate and control them. Employers may also dismiss victims due to frequent absences at work and decreased productivity– further compounding their already agonising situations.

Work can be refuge or lifeline

Most companies do not have a formal workplace domestic violence prevention policy. This is largely due to specious, but unfortunately prevalent, ideas about domestic violence being a “family matter”, or best left to social services. Yet for many victims of domestic violence, workplaces are an essential refuge. Work not only provides them stability, it also reassures them that they are worthy of dignity and respect, even when their partners make them feel worthless.

The financial independence that continued employment provides can enable victims to escape abusive relationships – a prospect that would be hard to imagine if they were jobless and completely dependent on their abusers. Many victims also disclose their abuse to trusted colleagues, making these colleagues an invaluable bridge to provide information about helpful resources, such as protection specialist centres and shelters.

What can employers do?

Employers can play a crucial role in tackling domestic violence, during Covid-19 and beyond. They can keep in touch with those they believe to be at risk of domestic violence, or encourage other employees to do so. This could take the form of regular check-ins with them, whether over calls or texts (eg. if victims are concerned about being overheard by their abusers).

Employers can also clearly signpost support services, such as Aware’s Women’s Helpline, to their employees. This information is especially important to have at hand when employees disclose experiences of abuse and violence to colleagues. After all, many abusers cut victims off from their family and friends, leaving them with precious few chances to ask for help. Beyond the humanitarian impulse to help a colleague or employee in need, tackling domestic violence also makes business sense.

Of course, you do not need a price tag to convince you that domestic violence is abhorrent. But the numbers may surprise you all the same: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the lifetime economic cost of domestic violence is estimated to be US$3.6 trillion across the US population. This toll manifests in reduced productivity, absenteeism, employee turnover, medical and other costs.

Aware’s corporate training arm, Catalyse Consulting, works with companies to equip employees with the skills to respond when colleagues disclose domestic abuse. A company we trained recently updated its HR policy to overtly acknowledge the potential workplace impact of domestic violence. It promised training for the workforce, and the ability to refer victims to resources. The policy also included measures such as paid leave, flexible work arrangements, emergency accommodation and financial assistance for those experiencing domestic violence. For them, these benefits could make for an essential safety net.

What can the government do?

Last year, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) adopted the first-ever treaty on violence and harassment at work, which emphasised that domestic violence affected employment and productivity at varying levels. The Convention recommended that “measures must be taken against domestic violence equally as in the case of violence at work”. However, the idea of employers being obligated to address domestic violence was one of the reasons why Singapore abstained from signing the treaty. The government argued that an official recognition of the effects of domestic violence at work, and attempts to mitigate its impact, would “expand workplace safety and health well beyond the workplace remit”.

In contrast to Singapore’s approach, fellow commonwealth countries Australia and New Zealand have already taken steps to recognise the workplace impact of domestic violence. In 2018, New Zealand passed legislation allowing those affected by domestic violence up to 10 days per year additional paid annual leave. The same year, Australia amended its Fair Work Act to introduce five days of unpaid leave for domestic violence victims. Last month, the United Kingdom’s government announced a review of workplace support for survivors of domestic abuse. It will look at how employers might pay wages into different accounts to safeguard cash for those living with a controlling partner, or otherwise make emergency cash available.

Domestic violence places a painful and preventable cost on workplaces. Government and employers alike should ensure that victims of domestic violence are not alone, either at home or at work.

Shailey Hingorani is the Head of Research and Advocacy in AWARE