Have you considered the impact of domestic violence on your school?

While school violence is actually quite rare, we need to give some thought to all of the hazards that could affect our schools.

A school is a workplace, and domestic violence finds its way into the workplace on a regular basis. You may have an employee who is a victim of domestic violence and you might not know it. An especially high-risk time for a domestic abuse victim and those around him or her is before, during, and after either a restraining order has been issued or a relationship break-up has occurred. When it comes to mass shootings, domestic violence makes up the most common scenario in our country today.

Even if the person has moved out of the home to a safe-house or other location, the abuser knows that he or she will likely continue to report to work.

Minimizing the impact of domestic violence on your school

Encourage your staff members to use your Employee Assistance Program and seek out other sources of support. Be alert to signs of stress, agitation, worry, increased absences and deterioration of work performance. While an employee may not want to disclose much information and is likely to underestimate or downplay the seriousness of the situation, it’s important to let him/her know of your concern and availability.

If you have reason to believe the person is in danger, you will need to discuss your concerns with the employee and your threat assessment team or law enforcement. You must act to protect not only the victim of domestic violence, but others in your workplace as well.

If you have a situation that concerns you and you’d like to talk it through, consider a 1-to-1 Consultation or a Threat Assessment Consultation to do just that.