Press Releases

August 3, 2003

Planet Productions Produces Much Needed Public Awareness Training

The Business Journal - August 8, 2003

Domestic violence also a problem on the job

By Robin J. Moody, Business Journal staff writer

Craig Gilbert, a contract security manager for a local high-tech company, learned first-hand how domestic violence can turn a workplace upside down.

A female employee at the company was followed to Oregon by an abusive partner she had fled. Her former partner also managed to get hired at the same place she worked.

" The abuse began again through threatening e-mails, stalking and ultimately, there was an off-site confrontation that involved a vehicle and baseball bats," Gilbert recalled.

The abuser was arrested, but released almost immediately.

" As a result of the threat from this guy, we tripled security for the duration of time until he was put back in jail," said Gilbert, who is employed by the California-based security company Securitas. The cost to the company was enormous, but it now has a comprehensive policy in place for dealing with domestic violence.

Seeking to raise awareness about domestic violence in the workplace, Multnomah County and Portland-based e-learning company Planet Productions Inc. have rolled out a free online training course on the subject.

There is increasing awareness that domestic violence is a social problem not confined to the home. Seventy-five percent of women who experience domestic violence report the perpetrator harassed them at work.

The county estimates that 30,000 women in Multnomah County were abused last year –about one in seven.

The county has done on-site domestic violence training for employers for five years but needed a better approach to reach small businesses.

" We tried different formats, invited speakers, but what we found were the people who came were big businesses and government. We weren't figuring out how to reach small businesses," said Chiquita Rollins, domestic violence services coordinator for Multnomah County.

The project cost $40,000, most of which came from an Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration grant. The program can be accessed by anyone with a 28k dial-up modem by visiting www.co.multnomah.or.us/dchs/dv/workplace.html.

" On the technology side, the company was very focused that the training would be available to anyone with an internet connection," said Dean McCrea, owner of Planet Productions, which won the bid for the project. The company also donated about $15,000 in labor to the project.

The training juxtaposes facts and figures about domestic violence with newspaper headlines detailing murders that resulted from abusive relationships. One woman's story of abuse and how it was dealt with by her employer also appears. In about 85 percent of domestic violence cases, the victims are women, according to the site, but there is a growing awareness of abuse between same-sex couples and perpetrated by women against men.

The training program is interactive, with questions about what constitutes abuse and a quiz at the end. The program emphasizes that domestic abuse is an ongoing pattern of coercive behavior in which a person attempts to control another through threats, physical violence, sexual assault or economic or verbal abuse.

While there are advantages to in-person training, the web-based system has the potential to reach more people, project partners said.

Harassment at work can include stalking, threatening e-mails, phone calls or faxes or an abuser showing up at work and making a scene – sometimes intending to get the victim fired.

The health-related costs of rape, physical assault, stalking and homicide by intimate partners exceed $5.8 billion each year, according to a report released in April by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of that total, productivity losses account for nearly $1.8 billion.

Rollins offers two key pieces of advice for employers or co-workers who suspect a worker is being abused.

" First, don't be afraid to talk about it, to raise the issue with your co-worker or employee," Rollins said. "Say, 'I noticed that you had a black eye and I'm concerned. Did somebody hurt you?'"

Second, anyone who suspects abuse should take it seriously. Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women, and nearly every week murders resulting from abusive relationships make the news. Some even take place at work.

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