Tomorrow the Lincolnshire Domestic Abuse Partnership will host the county’s first domestic abuse conference for businesses.
Among those speaking is Fiona Bowman, who will be sharing her experience of domestic abuse and how her employers at Standard Chartered Bank Edinburgh, where she worked at the time, helped her escape an 11-year violent and abusive marriage to start her life again in London.
She said: “After the last, worst beating, I ended up in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, in the severe head injuries unit. I still remember my manager’s face when he came in and saw me. He was shocked, he was somehow angry, and I could see tears in his eyes. It’s not something you are trained for as a bank manager!
“But when I came out of hospital, and went back to work, he got HR involved and they promised that they would help me. It took me some time to agree, but once I had accepted their offer of help, they arranged for me to go and work in a branch of the bank 400 miles away. Having that kind of support at a critical time in my life was so important.
“Hidden in plain sight, in your workplace, you might have a ‘Fiona’ coming in every day wanting to be respected and normal. We know that early intervention saves lives. If workplaces can put policies and processes in place to support staff members who may be affected by domestic abuse, you could save a life.”
Cllr Mrs Patricia Bradwell, executive member for safer communities, added: “The Lincolnshire Domestic Abuse Partnership can provide free advice and support to help your business to identify when members of your workforce may be at risk of domestic abuse or if a person is choosing to abuse. In addition, it explains how to listen to their concerns and support them accordingly.
“The conference will be an opportunity to hear how some of our local businesses have already taken steps to raise awareness of domestic abuse within their workforce and the positive impact this has had. Hopefully, other businesses will learn from their experiences and see the benefits of taking a proactive approach.”
The conference will be held live online and at The Showroom in Lincoln from 9.15am to 3pm. It will feature a range of guest speakers, including representatives from Lincoln City Football Club and Lincolnshire Co-op, who will be talking about the work they have done with their staff and how this has been of benefit.
Thanks to sponsorship from BeamOut studios, the event is being live-streamed for those unable to attend in person via HyHyve, a new platform allowing you to mingle/network with others online in-between each of the key speakers’ presentations and ask questions of the speakers and stall holders as if you were in the room.
The event is free to attend, but places must be booked in advance by those attending either online or at the venue. You can find further details on the guest speakers and reserve your place at Lincolnshire’s Business Domestic Abuse Conference Tickets, Tue 29 Nov 2022 at 09:15 | Eventbrite
