Domestic violence: A net drain on national economy

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‍‍Zhang Chunyue (name changed), a professional at a private firm in a small town in China, was at work when her husband banged opened the door to her chamber and abused her in the presence of her colleagues.

“He is a male chauvinist, and I had to follow him on everything. He didn’t want me to work overtime; therefore a quarrel would take place whenever I spent more hours at work… He strictly controlled my after-work activities including gatherings with coworkers, annual corporate parties, etc,” said Zhang, whose career growth was deeply affected by the domestic violence that she faced for years.

“Because of him, I missed several promotion opportunities,” she regretted.

The harassment at workplace increased manifold when Zhang eventually decided to divorce the violent husband. “Once, he came with a few big guys. He put one of his legs on the desk, claimed that I had an affair with someone, and asked my coworkers not to speak with me. Then he cornered me and slapped me across my face,” she said narrating the horrifying incident.

Participants at a panel discussion on "How to build a gender friendly environment at the workplace" at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Beijing on November 30, 2017. /Photo by Abhishek G Bhaya

Fortunately, Zhang had a supportive supervisor and colleagues who stood by her for the entire duration of the divorce proceedings. “Without their support and assistance, and if there were even a little bit more pressure from my work, I may not have been able to survive,” Zhang said, adding that she was allowed flexible working hours during those trying times.

Huang Jieyun (name changed), a qualified engineer, wasn’t as lucky. Despite obvious signs of domestic violence and public humiliation, her supervisors and coworkers continued to advise her against divorce while convincing her to tolerate her husband. “My supervisors gave me little support. To them, I was a troublemaker, because I often got sick [due to the physical assault by her husband] and took leave. My employer didn’t want me to go to court for a divorce,” she said.

Huang eventually managed a divorce, but regretted how her career suffered drastically due to domestic violence and her employer’s insensitive attitude about the same. “I could have applied for a senior professional title, or have had a better job. However, all these chances have been ruined by domestic violence,” she said.

The Asia Foundation President and CEO David D. Arnold addresses the audience while launching the report titled 'Impact of Domestic Violence on the Workplace in China', at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Beijing on November 30, 2017. /Photo by Abhishek G Bhaya

These are just two of the several case studies cited in a research report titled “Impact of domestic violence on the workplace in China” conducted jointly by The Asia Foundation and SynTao Co., Ltd., (a consulting firm on corporate social responsibility), that was released on Thursday at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Beijing.

The report attempts to understand how domestic violence spreads beyond the household and impact the workforce and productivity of businesses in China. It comes in the backdrop of China’s adoption in March 2016 of a landmark anti-domestic violence law, which identifies employers as among the key stakeholders in addressing issues of domestic violence.

“The report grows out of the 2016 legislation on domestic violence, which was passed after almost 20 years of advocacy. I think it is a landmark law that has identified responsibilities for various state and non-state stake holders in addressing domestic violence,” The Asia Foundation President and CEO David D. Arnold said at the launch event in Beijing on Thursday.

Beyond private sphere

The year-long research included in-person and online feedback from 706 working individuals and 93 employers and human resource managers from across sectors and geographic regions. A majority of the respondents – 80 percent of employees and 73 percent of employers – were women.

Of all the participating working individuals, 13.3 percent reported experiencing domestic violence in the past 12 months, and nearly half of these survivors admitted experiencing abuse by their partners while at work. About 22 percent said that their abuser has harassed, threatened, or even assaulted their coworkers. In addition, 56.4 percent respondents reported witnessing domestic violence suffered by acquaintances, while 65.8 percent of these witnesses said they have seen survivors continue to be abused at work by their partners.

“This research uncovers how domestic violence continues beyond the private sphere and impacts victims' workplace and work scenarios. And its negative impact extends from the victims' personal life and professional experience to the victims' co-workers and employers, which all together lead to additional costs to businesses and a net drain on national economy,” said Hao Yang, Program Officer, The Asia Foundation, as she presented the findings.

About 95 percent of respondents believe that domestic violence has adverse effects on productivity and job performance due to resulting stress, fatigue, injuries, and distractions, as well as forced absences or job changes. Almost 45 percent of respondents who have experienced domestic violence reported missing work hours or work days due to the abuse, according to the research. Overall, 70.8 percent of survivors claimed that domestic violence negatively affected their career advancement.

The report found that even though a majority of employees felt that their employers should intervene to provide assistance (91 percent) to survivors or discipline perpetrators (65.6 percent) of domestic violence, and while more than half of survivors disclosed their experiences of abuse to coworkers and/or supervisors, the willingness among survivors to seek help from employers remained low at 10 percent.

However, employers appeared to be largely unaware of employees facing domestic violence. Only 10 percent of human resources managers surveyed were aware that their employees were suffering from domestic violence, and even fewer (five percent) realized there were abusers among their staff, according to the report. A meagerly 3.3 percent of human resource managers were aware of employees seeking help from their employers.

Global repercussion

People take part in a march holding sign reading: "Workplace violence is gender violence" during a protest for discrimination and violence against women in Lima, Peru, November 25, 2017. /Reuters Photo

The Asia Foundation-SynTao joint report came days after the United Nations commemorated the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25, while on the same day kickstarting the "16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence" campaign" that runs up to December 10.

The UN initiative was announced amid a tidal wave of sexual harassment allegations in the workplace and against powerful individuals such as Hollywood movie magnate Harvey Weinstein has hit international headlines, prompting the social media campaign of #MeToo to protest against gender and sexual violence symbolically.

“This is a form of violence that is present at all layers of the society. It is a terrible form of violence because it occurs in a place where people should feel safe and loved – in our homes,” said Bas Pulles, the Deputy Ambassador of the Netherlands in China.

Stressing that domestic violence is a global issue, the Dutch Deputy Ambassador said: “Take my country for example, it is estimated that roughly 200,000 people face serious or repeated forms of domestic violence annually. This has a huge impact on the well-being of women, children and families of course but it also has economic impact.”

It is widely being acknowledged that when workers face domestic violence at home, the impacts are felt in the workplace. However, only a few studies have been carried out on the impact and cost of domestic violence on businesses and economies so far.

A Canadian government study in 2009 estimated that employers lose 77.9 million US dollars yearly as a direct result of domestic violence, and annual personal and system costs attributed to such abuse across Canadian health and social sectors are estimated in the billions. Estimates in the US, the UK and Australia are similarly high.

A research by an Australian government agency in 2009 claimed violence against women and their children cost the national economy an estimated 13.6 billion Australian dollars (10.29 billion US dollars) that year. “Without appropriate action to address violence against women and their children, an estimated three-quarters of a million Australian women will experience and report violence in the period of 2021-22, costing the Australian economy an estimated 15.6 billion Australian dollars (11.81 billion US dollars),” the report said.

In the UK, a University of Leeds study in 2004 estimated the total cost of domestic violence for the state, employers and victims/survivors at around 23 billion British pounds (31.11 billion US dollars) a year, while another 2003 study by a government agency in the US stated that the costs of intimate partner violence in the US exceeded 5.8 billion US dollars each year.

Minimizing the damage

An all-girls band performs during the launch of the report titled "Impact of Domestic Violence on the Workplace in China," at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Beijing, November 30, 2017. /Photo by Abhishek G Bhaya

The Asia Foundation-SynTao study on China did not offer a specific number but concluded that domestic violence incurs significant costs to employers due to lost productivity, an absence of work, and employee turnover – which in turn creates an additional human resource and administrative costs. The report estimated a 0.83 percent decrease in productivity per year in China resulting from departure or relocation due to domestic violence.

The study recommended minimizing the cost of domestic violence by raising awareness and survivor assistance programs in the workplace, and by enabling survivors to leave abusive relationships. Besides, 92 percent of respondents felt that appropriate survivor assistance programs in the workplace would increase their loyalty to their employers and build goodwill around the organization.

“The research focuses on the role that employers can play in addressing domestic violence. We think this is an important perspective to the problem because businesses can have a big impact in preventing and addressing domestic violence,” said Pulles.

“The research also explores how employers can act to mitigate such costs.... by supporting survivors and raising awareness among their employees,” said Arnold.

The report cites Australia, Canada and the US as places where “laws and regulations focusing on workplace-based actions against domestic violence have been enacted, and a relatively systematic action framework for employers has come into shape.”

“We hope to draw from these existing experiences in other countries to chart out next move,” Lv Pu, Program Officer, The Asia Foundation, told CGTN, stressing that China can benefit from such efforts in foreign countries.

“We are especially looking at Yale Foundation in the US, which has developed special expertise on the subject of domestic violence. We hope we can learn from them about engaging the government and cooperation between departments,” she said, adding: “We are also in touch with an expert in Australia, and hope he will participate in our efforts in the future.”

(The names of domestic violence survivors have been changed to protect their identity, privacy and confidentiality concerns)

[Top photo: Hao Yang, Program Officer, The Asia Foundation, presents the findings of the report titled "Impact of Domestic Violence on the Workplace in China," at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Beijing on November 30, 2017. /Photo by Abhishek G Bhaya]

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