Shine calls for amendments to close gaps in Domestic Violence – Victims' Protection Act 2018
The New Zealand government is being urged to strengthen the legislation designed to provide workplace support to employees who are suffering from domestic and family violence.
Shine, a group advocating support for domestic violence victims, called for amendments to the country's Domestic Violence – Victims' Protection Act 2018 (DVVPA), which has established domestic violence leave and short-term flexible working for employees affected by domestic violence.
One of Shine's recommendations is limiting employers' rights to require proof from employees who are victims of family violence before their leave request gets approved.
According to Shine, the requirement to provide proof should only take place if an employee takes three or more consecutive days of paid family violence leave.
The group also called for an expansion of "short-term" flexible working arrangements to up to six months, up from the current two, for employees suffering from family violence situations.
The recommendations aim to close some of the "gaps" of the DVVPA, according to Mira Taitz, lead of DVFREE at Shine.
"The law only provides for up to two months' flexible working and enables employers to ask for proof of family violence, which can be a barrier to people accessing this leave," Taitz said.
Workplace response to domestic violence
The recommendations come amid new research from Women's Refuge (The National Collective of Independent Women's Refuges) that showed areas where the workplace response to victims of family violence could be improved.
Overall, the report found that there were 40.2% of employees who are employed by firms with a policy on supporting those experiencing family violence.
Half of the respondents (50.5%) are also very and extremely confident that their workplace would respond safely and supportively if a colleague spoke about being harmed by a partner.
The findings also revealed the benefits from the DVVPA, such as higher disclosure rates and improved workplace responses when an employee reported experiencing family violence.
"This research demonstrates clearly what we've learned anecdotally – that the DVVPA has made an enormous difference to raising awareness of employers about family violence as a workplace issue, which has resulted in employers' improved understanding and response to the issue," Taitz said.
But there are gaps to current support for victims, such as the need for greater awareness, uptake, and integration of family violence policies and training across workplaces.
Victims in the report added that workplace responses also still need to have more empathy, such as by avoiding judgment and promoting a workplace culture where related policies are accessible and normalised.
"Workplaces are only one part of the wider response to family violence," the report read.
"They can reduce some of the impacts of violence when they follow the lead of victims, respond with compassion and care, make the full range of available supports under the DVVPA accessible in practice, and support workplace safety when needed."
ILO Convention 190
Meanwhile, Shine also urged the New Zealand government to ratify the International Labour Organisation's Convention 190, which requires member-states to mitigate the impacts of domestic violence in the world of work.
More than 50 countries, including Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, have ratified ILO Convention 190, according to Shine.
