North Essex businesswoman and domestic abuse survivor says workplace policies can be "the difference between life and death"
Cheryl Sharp says that domestic abuse policies can "save lives"
A North Essex businesswoman and domestic abuse survivor says that workplace domestic abuse policies can be "the difference between life and death."
She is encouraging businesses to implement domestic abuse policies in their companies.
The Office for National Statistics reports that one in four women, and one in seven men will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime.
Cheryl Sharp, founder of Pink Pig Financials and a domestic abuse survivor, says that a policy could be a "lifeline" for employees.
She said that work can be a safe space for people.
"It's really important for businesses to create an environment which is safe for them, but also supportive so that they know that their employer will help them.
"There are policies out there that they can they can take, and they can use and implement in their own business.
"The training that I provide and that I believe every business should have would also include how to have conversations with their employees.
"So if you notice, something's wrong with an employee, how do you approach that subject? And I think just talking about domestic abuse in the business in general is a really great way to open conversation.
"Because so many businesses will say 'we're a safe space, we've got open door policy. You can talk to us.' But abuse has such a stigma and it's such a taboo subject. A lot of people experience it in it, and may not even realise.
"So with only 5% of employees having that policy in place, that just means that people aren't really thinking about it. It's not on the agenda. And that's really sad, to be fair, because employees are struggling, employees need help."
She shared some signs to look out for, in order to help someone that may be struggling at home:
"So signs to look out for things like performance declining. So their work becoming not so good as they was then becoming withdrawn, potentially not wanting to go out on social events.
"Being late for work, generally jumpy. Obviously there's physical signs of bruising and anything else going on. But just general changes in someone's demeanour could could account for an awful lot.
"It's important, I think, to say that those signs could mean other things, not just abuse. But if you see some of those type signs and then just have the conversation, 'how are you?'
"Hopefully that will allow the person to open up and explain what's going on and what the issue is."
Cheryl said that a domestic abuse policy would have a "real big impact."
"It's incredible the difference it can make in somebody's life. It is worth it's weight in gold."
"It can save lives, because if you have a policy, you put the steps in place to keep your employees safe.
"It could mean the difference between life and death."