Businesses urged to take up challenge of preventing domestic violence

Minister for Women Shannon Fentiman is urging businesses to take up the challenge in preventing domestic and family violence in Queensland.

The Palaszczuk Government and Australia’s CEO Challenge have developed a new training package to teach workplaces to spot the signs that domestic or family violence might be occurring.

Ms Fentiman said workplaces can be a powerful force in ensuring domestic and family violence is exposed.

“Given how much time we spend at work, it makes sense to ensure that people are trained to notice if colleagues might be experiencing violence at home,” Ms Fentiman said.

“There are 181 reports of domestic and family violence incidents made to Queensland police every day and many more go unreported. And still one in three women will experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.

“I am calling on businesses – big or small – across Queensland to work with us to take up the challenge of eliminating domestic and family violence.”

The Recognise, Respond, Refer: Domestic Violence and the Workplace e-learning program, teaches people to recognise and respond to the signs and refer colleagues experiencing domestic or family violence to the right support organisations.

Australia’s CEO Challenge’s CEO Amanda Sams said her organisation was excited to be working collaboratively with the Queensland Government to take action against domestic violence.

“This online learning program provides the educational tools for every Queenslander in the fight to eradicate the silent epidemic that is domestic violence,” she said.

“The online platform breaks down the geographical barriers that we face in reaching rural and remote workers and their families, allowing Australia’s CEO Challenge to further engage and educate the community on how to recognise, respond and refer to victims of domestic violence.”

The program, jointly designed by the Department of Communities, Disability Services and Child Safety and Australia’s CEO Challenge, uses scenarios where staff are direct victims of violence, where they may be trying to help a relative or friend, or coping with the consequences of domestic and family violence.

It will be available to the whole of the Queensland Public Service and offered to businesses to purchase, with funds raised going towards domestic violence prevention and support programs.

The Queensland Government’s Trust your Instinct campaign encourages people to call DVConnect (1800 811 811) for confidential advice and support if they suspect someone they know is experiencing domestic and family violence. 

The Government has provided an extra $1.5 million to DVConnect to cope with a 40 per cent surge in demand over the last six months.

Media Contact:  Alex Purnell 0437 336 232