Domestic violence: Half of survivors say abuse happened at or near work

Nearly half (47%) of working Canadians don’t know that employers have a legal obligation to support employees facing domestic violence.

And yet the scale of the issue is sobering. One in three workers will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. Of those survivors, 53.5% report that abusive acts continued at or near their workplace.

Abusive partners may sabotage a worker’s ability to get to their job by hiding car keys, withholding money for public transit, or disrupting child care. That can translate into lateness, absenteeism and apparent unreliability that managers misread as performance problems rather than signs of abuse.

Harassment during work hours is also common, such as constant messaging — and not responding could escalate the danger.

Safety obligations for domestic violence

Domestic violence is no longer a “private matter” – it is a workplace health, safety and legal issue that employers can neither ignore nor delegate, according to Kaitlin Geiger‑Bardswich, director of communications and advocacy at Women’s Shelters Canada, which did the recent survey.

“For federally regulated employers, for example, the Canada Labour Code requires allowing up to 10 days of domestic violence leave per year for victims of family violence. Five of those have to be paid,” she says.

Employers must also investigate, record and report incidents of workplace harassment and violence, and take steps to prevent and respond to them. In some jurisdictions, domestic violence is explicitly recognised in legislation.

Ontario, for instance, specifically lists domestic violence, sexual violence and harassment as occupational health and safety issues. Geiger‑Bardswich says HR leaders must understand the requirements in every province or territory where they operate, as entitlements and obligations vary.

“A lot of provinces will allow for up to five days paid but then they can get like 16 weeks of protected leave. So if an employee needs to take care of things, their job is protected,” she explains.

In 2023, the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 190, the Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (C190) was ratified in Geneva on, and for one lawyer, that had major implications to workplaces.

How abuse follows workers into the workplace

The workplace impacts are extensive. Among workers who experienced domestic violence, 82% say it negatively affected their work, while 37% say it also harmed their co‑workers’ performance. Projects slow down, errors increase and teams absorb the emotional and operational fallout.

“Employees aren't doing the best work that they necessarily should be doing because of what is happening at home and employers aren't seeing it for what it is, aren't supporting it, and so people are losing their jobs even, losing their references, losing promotions,” says Geiger‑Bardswich.

Research used by Women’s Shelters Canada found that one in three employees has experienced violence, and more than half say an abusive incident occurred at or near their workplace*. Overall, 8.5% of survivors reported losing their job because of the violence they experienced.

The toll is heavier for some workers. For Indigenous, Black and other workers of colour, 24% reported losing a job due to intimate partner violence – nearly three times the rate of the broader workforce.

More than half (53%) said racism shaped their experience as survivors in the workplace, and 29% said race or immigration status was used by their abusive partner as part of employment sabotage, such as threatening to contact immigration authorities or undermine their credibility at work.

Disclosures are happening – but trust in employers is low

Women’s Shelters Canada also found that one‑third of working Canadians say a colleague has confided in them about their experience with domestic violence.

Yet the same research reveals a troubling gap in confidence: only 35% of working Canadians believe employers take domestic violence very or extremely seriously. That disconnect suggests many workers do not see their organisation as a safe place to seek help, even though disclosures are happening informally between colleagues.

Geiger‑Bardswich says employers and HR professionals should be alert to noticeable changes in behaviour: a previously engaged employee becoming withdrawn; someone who seems fearful about leaving work at the end of the day; or a worker who is constantly checking their phone and appears tense or distracted.

“It might not be domestic violence, obviously, but a good employer will sort of ask, you know, what's happening or ‘You seem a bit, you know, distracted’ or ‘Things seem different, what's going on, can we support?’” she says.

Creating space for safe conversations, resources

The goal is not to interrogate staff, but to create space for safe, voluntary conversations. “You're just sort of trying to be as open and supportive as possible,” says Geiger‑Bardswich. When organisations train managers and teams, and clearly signal they are prepared to discuss domestic violence without judgement or penalty, employees may feel safer coming forward.

“Of course you don't want to force anybody to disclose,” she adds. “So I think that's really what we're talking about, is having room for conversation and really taking the employee's lead.”

Those conversations must then be backed by concrete policies, including paid leave, safety planning, flexible work arrangements and clear referral pathways to specialised services.

For employers, addressing the issue of domestic violence  can be extremely challenging, according to one expert. “A lot of times, organizations don’t know where they’re at. ‘Where do I start?’ is one of the questions that we get all the time. They don’t know where to start, they’ve never looked at this before and it can be really intimidating,” Adriana Berlingieri, academic research associate at the Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children (CREVAWC) at Western University, previously told the Canadian HR Reporter.

To help employers meet both their legal duties and their moral obligations, Women’s Shelters Canada has launched a national training initiative focused on workplaces and  funded by the Federal Department of Women and Gender Equality. The training at referher.ca teaches participants how to recognise warning signs, have difficult conversations, respond appropriately and refer employees to resources such as shelters and community agencies.

_{*Wathen, C. N., MacGregor, J. C. D., MacQuarrie, B. J. with the Canadian Labour Congress (2014). Can Work be Safe, When Home Isn’t? Initial Findings of a Pan-Canadian Survey on Domestic Violence and the Workplace. London, ON: Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women & Children; and Premila Chellapermal (2022). Intersections Between Employment and Safety Amongst Racialized Women. Toronto, ON: WomanACT.}