UK finance firms mobilise to address domestic abuse
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London — Some of Britain’s biggest financial and legal firms have stepped up support for staff and customers suffering domestic abuse as the coronavirus lockdown sheds new light on the scale of a problem affecting millions nationwide.
Legislation now progressing through parliament suggests this costs Britain £66bn a year, with official figures estimating about 2-million people, mainly women aged 16 to 74, suffer some form of domestic abuse.
The Domestic Abuse Bill will introduce a statutory definition that includes physical violence but also emotional, coercive and economic abuse, after extensive lobbying by the charity Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) and the financial sector.
As the coronavirus pandemic forces millions to work from home and calls to helplines surge, Lloyds and NatWest have teamed up with charities SafeLives and SEA to offer financial, as well as practical aid to victims.
With remote working increasing social isolation, some firms are also striving to help staff.
Lloyds, Britain’s biggest retail bank with about 65,000 employees, has launched an emergency programme that offers vulnerable staff and their children refuge in a hotel, travel and living expenses, as well as advice and compassionate leave. Law firm Linklaters is offering a similar package, saying the crisis has put the onus on employers to tackle what the UN calls a “shadow pandemic” of violence against women.
“For too long it has been left to a small number of highly specialist, feminist organisations to make the case for bringing an end to domestic abuse, and trying to find the means to do that,” SafeLives’ CEO Suzanne Jacob said. “As major companies start to think in a new way about their workforce and their customers, so much more is possible.”
Domestic abuse charity Refuge said it has received more than 40,000 calls since Britain’s lockdown began in March and, as restrictions eased, the number of people needing emergency accommodation rose 54% in the first week of July.
The FICC Markets Standards Board warned last month that abuse can go undetected without face-to-face interaction, which has declined during widespread remote working.
“What could have been seen purely as a domestic issue all of a sudden was more clearly a workplace issue and you have to take action,” Jenny Lloyd, diversity and well-being manager at Linklaters, said.
The UK metropolitan police, which covers London, said domestic violence reports rose by a third in the six weeks to April 24, while its officers ...
Legislation now progressing through parliament suggests this costs Britain £66bn a year, with official figures estimating about 2-million people, mainly women aged 16 to 74, suffer some form of domestic abuse.
The Domestic Abuse Bill will introduce a statutory definition that includes physical violence but also emotional, coercive and economic abuse, after extensive lobbying by the charity Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) and the financial sector.
As the coronavirus pandemic forces millions to work from home and calls to helplines surge, Lloyds and NatWest have teamed up with charities SafeLives and SEA to offer financial, as well as practical aid to victims.
With remote working increasing social isolation, some firms are also striving to help staff.
Lloyds, Britain’s biggest retail bank with about 65,000 employees, has launched an emergency programme that offers vulnerable staff and their children refuge in a hotel, travel and living expenses, as well as advice and compassionate leave. Law firm Linklaters is offering a similar package, saying the crisis has put the onus on employers to tackle what the UN calls a “shadow pandemic” of violence against women.
“For too long it has been left to a small number of highly specialist, feminist organisations to make the case for bringing an end to domestic abuse, and trying to find the means to do that,” SafeLives’ CEO Suzanne Jacob said. “As major companies start to think in a new way about their workforce and their customers, so much more is possible.”
Domestic abuse charity Refuge said it has received more than 40,000 calls since Britain’s lockdown began in March and, as restrictions eased, the number of people needing emergency accommodation rose 54% in the first week of July.
The FICC Markets Standards Board warned last month that abuse can go undetected without face-to-face interaction, which has declined during widespread remote working.
“What could have been seen purely as a domestic issue all of a sudden was more clearly a workplace issue and you have to take action,” Jenny Lloyd, diversity and well-being manager at Linklaters, said.
The UK metropolitan police, which covers London, said domestic violence reports rose by a third in the six weeks to April 24, while its officers ...
