“ You can lie to your mom on the phone, you can’t lie to your co-worker when he sees how many sleepless nights you’re having or how many texts you’re getting. » Long, too long, the daily work of Sarah Barukh, author at the head of the collective work 125 and thousands (HarperCollins, 544 pages, 20 euros), was regent from a distance by the harassment and threats made against him by his ex-companion.
Speaking at a conference on domestic violence at work, organized by the firm Technologia on February 28, Sarah Barukh recounted how her attacker forced her to “leaving crucial meetings to answer the phone”, forbade him to wear certain outfits, or to attend meetings with men. Faced with her friend, whom she saw sinking without reacting, her former colleague expressed her dismay: “I had in front of me a force that was not rational. »
Beyond good intentions, how can employers and colleagues help victims to get out of this mechanism of violence? “The company is often the only place where the person is physically far from his spouse”argues Béatrice Lestic, national secretary at the CFDT in charge of gender equality issues.
Anxious to present the company as a “refuge”, more and more employers are displaying their commitment against domestic violence. Like L’Oréal, Korian, EDF or even BNP Paribas, a dozen major groups have joined the OneInThreeWomen network, co-founded with the Kering Foundation in 2018 to raise awareness on the issue within companies.
A guide and e-learning modules
A commitment which did not fail to arouse reservations on the side of elected union officials and association officials, believing that employers should first sweep in front of their door before posing as white knights. “In the eyes of the employer, it is sometimes easier to deal with violence against women outside the company than what is happening within his company”emphasizes Béatrice Lestic.
A partner of UN Women France since 2013, Carrefour Market has produced a guide against violence against women to raise employee awareness. With 83% of women in its workforce, Korian has set up e-learning modules on all types of violence, followed by nearly 1,400 employees. Above all, “we are one of the few companies to have a social assistance service”, underlines the company. Of 51 employees monitored in 2022, 21% of cases related to support for domestic violence.
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