Canadian Labour Congress: Employers can help stop domestic violence

A new Canadian study shows that the brutality of violence and abuse at home spills into the workplace, creating empathy, unease and unexpected costs. It is the first report of its kind ever done in Canada. Today, we look at what employers and co-workers can do to stop domestic violence.

• Addressing Domestic Violence in the Workplace: -- A Handbook for Employers by Work Safe BC

It's hard to ask a co-worker whether "something is going on" --- especially when you're worried they're being abused at home.

A new campaign out of Western University called "Make it Our Business" uses a fictional case study to help people concerned that someone they work with dealing with domestic violence.

According to a new survey from the Canadian Labour Congress and Western University, one third of workers have experienced domestic violence and 82 percent of them say the abuse adversely affected their performance on the job.

Melissa Corbeil has lived what the statistics indicate. She was in an abusive relationship at the beginning of her career. She joined us from our Ottawa studio.

Melissa Corbeil's story is familiar to people who work in the area of domestic violence.

Barb MacQuarrie has helped abused women for decades. She is the Community Director of the Centre for Research and Education on Violence against Women and Children in the Faculty of Education at Western University. Ms. MacQuarrie worked on this study with the Canadian Labour Congress.

Natalie MacDonald is a founding partner of Rudner MacDonald LLP, a law firm specializing in Canadian Employment Law. She's the author of "Extraordinary Damages in Canadian Employment Law".

This was produced by The Current's Ines Colabrese and Shannon Higgins.