Organisational policies and responses to employee disclosures of domestic and family violence and sexual assault: What constitutes best practice?

Abstract

Domestic and family violence (DFV) and sexual assault (SA) are prevalent harms affecting a significant number of Australians. There is increasing recognition that the effects of DFV can potentially affect the workplace, including employee performance, productivity and organisational reputation. Advocates have successfully recommended initiatives to support organisational responses to DFV. However, where there are difficulties in workplace performance or an employee discloses and requests assistance, few initiatives are properly evaluated, and it remains unclear the extent to which organisations embed these strategies.

This scoping review aims to identify evidence of best practice organisational responses to employee’s experiences of DFV and SA. Sexual harassment (including where it involves sexual assault) was not included in this review as it constitutes a substantial and separate body of literature, and the suite of organisational responses are well developed and evaluated.

Twenty-seven studies were identified as meeting the inclusion criteria for this review. These studies identify an emerging evidence base detailing organisational responses to DFV, but scant evidence was identified in relation to SA. The following strategies and initiatives were identified as contributing to an effective organisational response from the studies: (1) provision of education and training for managers and front line responders (2) policies detailing the nature and parameters of the organisational response (3) flexible work arrangements (4) manager/supervisor support to respond to employee disclosure (5) co-worker support where an employee’s experiences has affected the work team (6) strategies ensuring privacy/confidentiality (7) access to resources, information and provision of referrals to external services and (8) other strategies and initiatives. The review concludes by considering areas for a best practice organisational response to DFV.