Session: IPV and the Workplace (Society for Social Work and Research 27th Annual Conference - Social Work Science and Complex Problems: Battling Inequities + Building Solutions)

Intimate partner violence (IPV) impacts millions of women in the United States each year. Abuse can impede survivors' performance at work, leading to reduced hours, poor performance, and even job loss. Poor employment outcomes may prevent survivors from leaving violent relationships by increasing socioeconomic dependence on abusers. Workplaces also offer potential sources of supports and protections to IPV survivors that may facilitate economic independence. Failure to address the impacts of IPV in the workplace may perpetuate ongoing violence and long-term financial insecurity for survivors. This symposium presents three empirical studies that each examine opportunities to protect IPV survivors in the workplace.

The first study presents associations between workplace supports and IPV disruptions in the workplace for Black versus white women. Forty-one women recruited from an IPV service and advocacy agency were surveyed on their experiences of workplace supports and disruptions due to abuse. Results suggest white women were offered more supports in the workplace in association with experiencing disruptions related to IPV compared to Black women.

The second study examines the relationship between workplace policy protections for IPV survivors and socioeconomic outcomes. A number of policy protections for IPV survivors in the workplace have been implemented throughout the country, but little evidence guides effectiveness at improving employment status and reducing housing hardship. The study examines the relationship between living in a state with policies that protect IPV survivors - right to reasonable accommodations, right to confidentiality, and protection from discharge for abuse-related disruptions - and employment status and housing hardship. The authors hypothesize that survivors with access to more supportive state policies are more likely to maintain employment as well as secure and maintain stable housing. Findings suggest all three policies were associated with increased employment, but did not relate with reduced risk for housing hardship.

Like the second study, the third examines impacts of state-level policies on outcomes for IPV survivors. The authors hypothesize that two state-level policies - right to leave and right to confidentiality - for survivors would be associated with lower levels of IPV in a sample of mothers who had been in violent relationships; when women have access to workplace supports that enable them to attend to court hearings, medical appointments, and childcare without fear of losing employment, they may feel empowered to leave violent relationships. Results suggest that living in a state with a right to confidentiality - but not leave - policy was associated with reductions in IPV experiences for survivors. Robust workplace supports may protect survivors from ongoing violence.

Taken together, the three studies extend understanding of the pitfalls IPV survivors face in the workplace as well as potential solutions to increase supports, promote socioeconomic stability, and reduce violence. Efforts to implement state policy protections more widely as well as apply supports equitably may enable survivors to maintain financial independence and leave violent relationships.