Michele Heyward
0:02
Welcome, everybody. Thank you for joining me for another edition today. We have Devon Olivia, here with us and we’re going to be talking or rather she’s going to be educating us about domestic violence and really understanding terminology, the dynamics and what employers should be doing during and post COVID-19. Devin, thank you so much for joining.

0:28
Thank you for having me. Michelle.

Michele Heyward
0:30
So can you tell us why you started in this area in this in this really is difficult, but it’s very important work that you do.

Michele Heyward
0:42
Yeah, absolutely. So I actually started volunteering in this field when I was a senior in high school. Um, I wasn’t even legally old enough yet to be working in a shelter so my parents had to sign a waiver for me. And that was kind of my first real introduction to what this kind of work is to some of the system stomache barriers that survivors and their families encounter and to the ways in which our society has been developed over all to create these social norms that allow for intimate partner violence and other forms of power based violence to exist. So when I was an undergrad, I was studying criminal justice. And we had this speaker coming from this incredible team. She was a civilian that worked with the San Antonio Police Department on what they call the Crisis Response Team. And that was my first introduction to what does this work actually look like day in and day out. It was a team of law enforcement and civilians, that were responding in a collaborative way to survivors of intimate partner violence across the city, really with the purpose of connecting survivors to resources and to professionals that knew the unique safety considerations that intimate partner violence survivors were experiencing. Working in that particular system in law enforcement is incredibly difficult especially coming in with an anti oppression in the feminist framework. It’s a system that historically has not responded effectively to the needs of marginalized communities. And it was my first introduction to what I call capacity building, where I was really engaging not just in working directly with survivors, but in helping police officers understand the dynamics of domestic violence, the dynamics of safety and safety planning, how to effectively convey some of these really fluid concepts, right, we respond to a case and there’s not a physical injury. How do we still put into a report the idea of intimate partner violence? How do we write down what the course of control tactics are in the safety implications of really helping law enforcement understand the many ways in which survivors face tremendous barriers with the things that we’re seeing, for example, this really high level of burnout among police officers just not understanding why they’ve been out to this house six times in the last eight months and the person is still living with With the person creating harm, and really helping them to understand kind of the systemic things that survivors are running up against, and really the importance of enabling and empowering survivors to make the choices that are best for them. And that was the moment that I kind of fell in love with that capacity building side of things of what can I be doing as an advocate in these systems to transform the way the systems operate, and the people within those systems so that they are responding safely and effectively and with compassion to survivors.

Michele Heyward
3:28
You use a phrase that I have, I’m not familiar with when it relates to domestic violence, and it is intimate partner violence. So can you define that a bit more? So we understand what that means?

Devin Rojas
3:48
Yeah, so I’ll start with the Centers for Disease control’s definition of intimate partner violence, which is an actual or threatened physical or sexual violence or psychological or emotional abuse. directed towards a spouse and ex spouse current or former boyfriend or girlfriend, or current or former dating partner. So domestic violence is the word that was used early in the movement. There’s been a shift over the course of time away from that particular word because the language to it implies that the partners live together. Often it implies that they’re a married heterosexual couple. And what that does is it leaves out these entire populations of people that still experienced these dynamics of abuse, but aren’t necessarily covered in that language. So intimate partner speaks to two or more people who have ever had an intimate relationship, where dynamics of abuse or presence

Michele Heyward
4:43
so now you’re bringing in the LGBTQ plus community and in how they’re victims as well and had previously been eliminated by using what my generation knows or in a few others know as domestic violence. So thank you so much for that clarification. When it comes specifically to women of color, what are some barriers they commonly encounter in IPv.

Devin Rojas
5:18
Um, so there’s a lot of things happening when we talk about women of color and IPv. So we know that women of color regardless of the race or ethnicity, non white, non European women experience significantly higher rates of intimate partner violence than their white counterparts do. And there’s a lot of reasons kind of behind that, including the ways in which colonialism and white supremacy have been forced into many of these communities, and that women of color have less access to resources. So some of the research on intimate partner violence lethality has found that since we’ve implemented mandatory arrest laws mandatory arrest laws, are laws that say when a police officer responds to an intimate partner by Call. If there’s a visible injury on the person, then they arrest the other person. It takes the essentially kind of the responsibility and blame from the survivor and it places it on an institution. What they have found is that the rates of lethality and homicide for survivors has not significantly decreased with these. It has four perpetrators. And so when we kind of break down, why is it that perpetrators and specifically black men, when compared with white men are now facing lower rates of lethality from the partner that they’ve abused? What we’re finding is that, shockingly enough, not shocking that law enforcement we’re not supporting black women calling in cases of intimate partner violence. A lot of this comes around the stereotypes that black people are capable of handling more physical pain than non black people, that black women are stronger and more resilient than non black women. And so they don’t need somebody responding to help them. So that’s one example of the ways that the stereotypes around black communities and black people have specifically harmed that community. We also know that some of the things like we know, intimate partner violence increases during the migration process from one country into the US. A lot of that is around social isolation, the more isolated a family is the higher risk they are for experiencing intimate partner violence. We also know that things like medical care may not be accessible to many survivors, particularly if they don’t have health care or if they’re low income. Being able to just show up to a doctor to treat your injuries may not be as viable, which means that women of color who are more likely to have lower access to health care may also face longer term damage as a result of the abuse and the violence that they’ve experienced. We also know that things like obtaining restraining Orders successfully prosecuting a case are going to be really challenging because of the racial and ethnic biases that judges are bringing into the courtroom and that attorneys are bringing into the courtroom and kind of this idea of who the perfect victim is. And oftentimes women of color are not going to fall into that preconceived idea of who that perfect victim is.

Michele Heyward
8:20
Okay. That those very, very interesting and I can see, see that from my own personal experience. When you’re talking about relationship between IPv and employment. Yeah.

8:37
The So what?

Michele Heyward
8:40
So what should employers be looking for? And how can they potentially help their employees? So, um,

Devin Rojas
8:50
I want to start with a little bit of kind of backstory of what does IPv in the workplace look like? Right, we know that roughly 40% Sons of people in the work field have experienced intimate partner violence that has impacted them at work in somehow and often this is going to be in the forms of harassment and on the job stalking by their partner. We also know that 20% of workplace fatalities were the results of intimate partner violence, meaning that the person who was killed on the job, their partner came to work and harmed them killed them and potentially injured their colleagues as well. We know that women in the workplace the number continues to increase and many employers are not equipped for the unique needs that professional women have, including responding to intimate partner violence. And the relationship that a survivor has to employment can be really complicated. Employment may be used as the by the perpetrator to control the survivor as the sole income earner. It may be Another one used, where the perpetrator may be actively trying to interfere with their job so that they can’t have financial sustainability and security independent of the person causing harm. So some of the things that employers might see would be what we call workplace disruptions. And so this would include kind of any behavior on the part of the person creating the harm, that delays their partner from being able to show up to work on time. And there are often things that occur in the home. So prior COVID-19 This might be assaulting the partner so that they have injuries and have to call out of sick during COVID-19. This could be things like refusing to parent or homeschool children while your partner is in a meeting or conference call. It could be things like behaving in a threatening manner towards children or pets in the home so that the partner stays psychologically distracted trying to manage the risk in the household of more vulnerable household members. It could be things like hiding their computer or their charger Or their cell phones so that they can’t communicate with colleagues and literally sign in to work that day. It could be things like creating chaos in the background so that the partner is distracted, humiliated, and is put in a position where they’re forced to sign off for the day. Other behaviors may include on the job harassment and stalking. So we have essential personnel who have to say, for example, go to a hospital because they’re a nurse or they’re a doctor. This could be a partner stalking or threatening them. It could be a partner who refuses to let them sleep in the home for fear of bringing in COVID-19. It could be a partner that is creating disruptions that diverts their work day so they can’t show up. It could be a partner who is threatening to go out into the world and contract COVID-19 and bringing it home to their children if the partner doesn’t comply, threatening to contract it and give it to the coworker or to the partners co workers if they have to report into the office.

12:01
Other things that we might see is reduced productivity.

12:05
survivors are under tremendous stress what the mental math that survivors are having to do on a daily basis, they are having to think about every single decision and choice and action. They make every single decision choice and action that their children make if there’s children in the home, and having to constantly stay a step ahead of the person who is creating this chaos and violence in their lives. There’s a lot of work that goes into managing another person’s behavior and constantly trying to navigate that risk. And so when you then think about that in the workplace, right, if we’ve all experienced stress at some time in our life, think about a moment when you’ve been highly stressed, and how effective you’ve been in all the other aspects of your life, right? It kind of just goes down. And that’s what many survivors experience they’re also having to spend a lot of time on the phone managing their partner’s behaviors or emotions. They may be arriving late, or leaving early. I’m taking time off because of injuries and then just kind of that psychological and mental distraction from the stress and trauma that they’re living with. Another one might be workplace violence where a partner will literally show up to the workplace and cause violence either towards the victim or towards their colleagues. And then another big one that I think many employers may underestimate is the medical, administrative and liability costs. Employers are responsible for ensuring that any hazards that may be likely to cause serious harm or death to their employees while at work, are addressed proactively. intimate partner violence is one of those hazards. We also know that survivors have increased absenteeism, tardiness and turnover. It is incredibly difficult for survivor to maintain employment with a company. And that has major implications turnover is expensive and so if we can reduce turnover by supporting survivors, it’s in the best interest of both the survivor and the company.

Michele Heyward
13:59
So let’s Let’s talk about the turnover or if an employee or is seeing these actions or behavior in their employee, what are some things they can do to or services, they should consider having all of their employees who are in an intimate partner violence.

Devin Rojas
14:28
Okay, so the first thing I would recommend is to look at your organizational culture. Some of the studies done on why survivors make a decision to either disclose the abuse they’re experiencing or not disclose the abuse they’re experiencing to employers really comes down essentially to workplace culture. Does the survivor feel that this work environment is one that will believe her and will support her? Two of the biggest reasons that survivors choose to not disclose as a belief that’s a private matter, and a belief that it’s an embarrassment A shameful thing. And so if employers can do work within their organizational culture to start dismantling those belief systems, they’re already going to start reducing those barriers. survivors are also more likely to disclose if they have a colleague or a supervisor that they trust. And so building those relationships with colleagues and employees is incredibly important to supporting survivors. The core of whether or not a survivor is going to disclose is if they feel that they can trust the person. I would also recommend employers look at their intimate partner violence policy. Many employers do not have a policy they’re not equipped for this and what that results in is a punitive or reactive response because they weren’t prepared. And with a policy in place, it will provide that framework to help support a survivor in a collaborative survivor centered way that keeps everybody in the workplace safe. Um, In that policy, one of the important things is a requirement to safety plan. And so safety planning is something that all domestic violence professionals or intimate partner violence professionals are familiar with. And essentially, it’s a tool. It’s an informal tool around. What can we do to increase safety and manage risk, and then finally, knowing what resources are available, so there are some amazing national resources the national network to End Domestic Violence the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Futures Without Violence are all phenomenal national resources. Every single state has a coalition dedicated to intimate partner violence. And so employers can look up intimate partner violence or domestic violence state coalition and find resources and then there are also local domestic violence programs that are always more than willing to provide resources technical assistance and training to allied professionals wanting to To support survivors.

Michele Heyward
17:01
Okay. Thank you for that. I want to ask a question this particular question, because of the belief that I hear often. And I want to know, you know, what are some other common myths about IPv that you’ve heard and you continue to hear, that employers really need to be aware of? Okay.

17:25
So,

17:26
I think in the workplace, one of the big ones is that educated professional women don’t experience it. What we know is that IPv cuts across racial, religious, economic lines. And we know that women on either extreme of the spectrum for education are at higher risk, meaning women who haven’t finished high school are at highest risk. And women with two masters or more are at highest risk. And kind of when we think about that, initially, we’re like, Well wait, because wouldn’t more Education mean more resources and more finances. But if we kind of break down what’s the root cause of intimate partner violence, the root cause of intimate partner violence is gender based oppression. And women with high levels of education may be perceived as a threat to a partner, because they’ve got the capacity and the ability for that financial security and sustainability. And so there’s some interesting dynamics happening in that where I think a lot of people tend to kind of underestimate the risk that professional women may be at. Um, I think one of the other ones really is that it’s an issue for the home. I’m not quite grasping why what’s happening at home as horrible as most people will agree it is with relevance to the workplace. And I think when we start kind of looking at what is the percentage of our workforce that are women, what is the financial cost of not addressing intimate partner violence And what are the implications society if we don’t do this, right? Because if we have women who are experiencing this type of violence and trauma in their daily lives, reporting to work, and having their productivity and their creativity and their phenomenal brains stifled because of that society, we have an obligation to support these women because they have so much to offer the world, particularly in fields where women and women of color especially are underrepresented. We have a social obligation to creating an environment where people are able to show up and do their work and all of their glory, and be safe while doing so.

Michele Heyward
19:47
Absolutely agree. Um, what I really like about the work you’re doing is that it focuses on where we need to be right now. It also focuses on where employers should be focusing their efforts and where they can get resources. But I also want to talk about, you talked about the importance of employers, making it part of the policy. And let’s focus a bit on unemployment, like, how does it impact not only employers, but really all of us when it comes to the unemployment rate for those who experience IPv.

20:36
So we know that survivors have
20:41
more challenges than people who are not experiencing intimate partner violence in maintaining financial and Employment Security. They have more gaps in their resumes. They may have higher rates of termination if employers are not understanding the dynamics that are present They may have higher rates of leaving employment if it becomes too unsafe to work. Um, and that alone is going to translate to years and years and years of loss income and loss professional growth. We also know that the vast majority of women who are experiencing homelessness are homeless as a result of intimate partner violence. It is the leading cause of homelessness among women. And many of these women also have children who are now also experiencing homelessness. And our social safety network is not designed in a way that is going to help kind of launch a survivor and to that financial sustainability and security if she doesn’t have access to other types of resources. If we break it down a little further and also look at the income gap, right we know white women make 77 cents to every dollar a white man makes we know that black women make I believe it’s 65 cents and Latinas 46 cents I may be slightly off on the numbers. But for black and Latino, non Indigenous women, those numbers are even lower than what white women are making, which means that black indigenous and women of color are already going to be uniquely vulnerable to any kind of financial crisis or instability in their life. And they’re already uniquely vulnerable to higher rates of intimate partner violence. And already facing additional barriers, bias and stigma in their employment that white counterparts are not facing, which is going to be when we kind of pull all of that together, looking at how employers are responding, increased risk of termination for essentially being a victim, and then fewer resources to help sustain that financial security. They need to manage their risk.

Michele Heyward
22:52
Does that answer the question? Yes, it does. Thank you so much. I, I think for a lot of employers, they don’t know what to do, which is why they say it’s a home issue, then if they can find a way to support their employees, what does that look like? but for others is like, well, if they don’t work here, then it’s no longer my problem, but it’s really a systemic problem that needs to be addressed overall. I want to ask you this particular question, because I think you’ve done the work for so long at this point. What has been one of the biggest surprises doing this work that you’ve learned and you were the one it was data experience that has come about?

23:43
So I’ve continued to be shocked every day doing this work. Um,

23:51
I think
23:57
one of the I’m going to go with a popular Have one of the biggest kind of heartwarming surprises I’ve run into is the real belief that I think people want to do the right thing. People want to help and support each other. And the challenge is often around just not knowing how to do that. And when people are empowered to be able to do that, they can do incredible things for their community, um, in my experience working with some of these systems where I’ve stepped in, and I’m like, I don’t know why I’m here. I don’t know if I can do anything that’s going to be able to make someone’s life better or they’re experienced simply navigating the system better. I have always been pleasantly surprised to find allies and rock stars and amazing humans, who are genuinely dedicated to building a safer world for everybody. And the challenge that they often simply run into is just not knowing how to create channel that energy into something productive. And so I think when we can equip people with knowledge and resources and allies and partners and experts, and kind of pull it together in this really collaborative, multidisciplinary way, where we’re valuing everybody’s expertise and input and the lived experiences of survivors who have actually gone through this and centering their voices, were able to really transform the way we understand intimate partner violence and the way systems are responding to survivors and victims.

Michele Heyward
25:33
Thank you, I like the way you select is something positive. I absolutely agree. We often just want to know how to do it. We have we have the compassion, the empathy, and the we’re compelled to step in, we just want to know what are the steps? So, Devin, how can people reach out to you How can they contact you or connect with you

Devin Rojas
25:59
so They can follow me on Instagram at Rojas but spelled are oj as the color red and Spanish underscore consulting. Um, they can reach me by email at Devin DV i n Rojas 09 details

Michele Heyward
26:16
did another edition today we have

 

26:29
your mute.

Michele Heyward
26:31
So Devin, where can people find you? How can they connect with you?

Devin Rojas
26:35
So they can follow me a couple of different ways. I am on Instagram at Rojas spelled ROJ s like the color red and Spanish underscore consulting. They can reach me by email at ro Devon D Eb i n dot Rojas, r o j. s 09 at gmail and they can also find me on my website, WWE W dot Rojas consulting.org.

Michele Heyward
27:04
Thank you so much for joining us today. This has been a fantastic conversation that is not had enough. I definitely think we should do something a little bit later maybe help employers. I would love that to pull some resources

27:18
together some workshops. Yes,

27:21
exactly.

Michele Heyward
27:22
So everybody Stay tuned we will be in touch and I hope you’re having a great day.

27:27
You too. Thank you, Michelle.