Recognizing the work of PADV

It's hard for me to believe that men really hit women.  I know it shouldn't be hard to believe - I've know too many victims, read too many stories, seen too many ugly results.  But still, at my core -- I find it hard to believe.

But it's true.  And sometimes women hit men.  And sometimes they - men and women - do much more.  And sometimes the threat, the psychological beating is just as effective as the kick or the punch.

I'm an HR leader -- by work and by passion.  And in all my years of work, safety has been a critical part of my role.  I've thought of the workplace as "my place" - where I was responsible for the well being of every one of my employees.  And that is what connected me to PADV -- Partners Against Domestic Violence.  Their vision is to create a community free of domestic violence.

I wanted - and still do - a workplace free of violence and the threat of violence.  And often that threat comes from home and into work.

Today I'm working with PADV and SHRM Atlanta to equip HR folks in the metro area with the knowledge, the tools and the support to make sure the team at "their place" is safe and secure.  I want HR to know the signs and the steps; I want co-workers know how to offer meaningful support; I want victims know where to get help; I want supervisors to be informed; I want businesses to have a game plan.  I want us to realize that just because we want to believe "oh, it doesn't happen here", that we know that it does happen here.  Every day.

It's about building a web of trust, about having a plan and a response.  But more importantly it's about knowing the reality.

Every year approximately 18,700 violent workplace events are committed by an intimate of the victim at the workplace.

Every year.  As an HR leaders I would sometimes wake in the night, playing over in my head a conversation, a concern -- wondering if I had missed a signal that meant employees were in danger.

It's time to be informed.  It's time to be involved.  If you are HR in metro Atlanta, check out www.padv.org.

And if you are HR anywhere, join the conversation and the expectation that HR has an important role to play.  According to the CDC, one in four women are - at least once in their life - a victim of domestic violence.  Violent domestic violence.