Violence Against Women – What does HR need to know?

Join us for our International Women’s Day webinar as we discuss the topic “Violence Against Women – What does HR need to know?“

For International Women’s Day this year, we want to acknowledge and discuss the fight to reduce violence against women in this country. In 2023, 58 women were killed by male violence in Australia.

If you take a look at “The Red Heart Campaign”, a project that aims to create a permanent and public memorial to the women and children who have died as a result of violence in Australia, there are 86 hearts representing the lives of women and children that were lost in 2023. The small-sized hearts have to be the worst, one 3-month-old girl lost to domestic violence. There have already been 16 lives lost in 2024. Violence is happening everywhere, it is happening in our communities, friendship groups, and workplaces.

Violence can impact employees directly and indirectly. Both can affect an employee’s ability to be productive and/or safe in the workplace.

So what can HR do to help? And what goes wrong?

The new respect@work legislation requires a positive duty of care for all employers to protect staff from sexual harassment – this legislation is not optional. It should be seen as a way to create safer, better, and more productive workspaces.

Katherine Berney from NWSA will discuss:-

• the important work of the NWSA in helping to prevent and reduce violence against women through influencing and lobbying the government on policy and funding to support women in need
• implicit bias, community attitudes, and whether your workforce is trained appropriately to respond to disclosures of violence.

Frances Crimmins from YWCA Canberra will share:-

• what YWCA is doing to assist employees in safely responding to disclosures of sexual harassment
• how education can and will establish a culture of prevention – meaning it is safer for women in the workplace
• how the tone from the top sets the culture – getting senior management to prioritise sexual harassment
•  demonstrating positive duty under the new Respect at Work legislation through the YWCA’s online “Work Respect” program:-
  + the absence of incident reporting does not mean that a workplace is free of harassment, but rather that the reporting system is inadequate
  + women feeling safe to speak up about sexual harassment
  + women feeling trust in your HR systems and processes
  

Speakers

Katherine Berney

Executive Director at the National Women’s Safety Alliance

Katherine is passionate about social, economic and safety equity for women and children. She has a strong not-for-profit background including working internationally with the Red Cross in the South Pacific and on the DV-Alert program as part of the National Safety Plan. Katherine has a genuine passion for changing the statistics for women in Australia she understands the power of the Women’s Alliances and the collaborative strength of the sector. Katherine is working towards her PhD in Sociology under Dr Michael J Walsh at the University of Canberra.

Frances Crimmins

Chief Executive Officer at YWCA Canberra

Frances is passionate about empowering women to achieve their potential and shape their communities. Frances began her career in hotel management and moved into senior HR roles within the health sector. Frances was drawn to YWCA Canberra in 2010 as she had always identified as a feminist and had a strong belief in social justice, which she attributes to her mother’s influence. Having faced discrimination during her career journey, she is now committed to being a strong voice for women.