Domestic Violence as Workplace Safety
Last week, one of the keynotes at the ILTA conference was by Jeff McKissack from Defense by Design. His theme was “Change your Filters” as an encouragement to think outside of the box regarding security threats in the workplace. He spent much of his time giving examples of threats outside of the ordinary cybersecurity filters, things like social engineering (The folks who walked right into a company wearing copier tech uniforms, and everyone helped them get where they wanted to go) and physical threats to your employees and their families, using blackmail, etc.
He shared stories of using a fake police badge to convince employees to get into a stranger’s car or using social media to target a CEO’s kids, etc. He reminded us that while hackers get all the media attention, there are still plenty of old-school ways to damage your business.
One of the facts he shared was one that I’m pretty sure most of us wouldn’t find surprising. Over the years, there have been two causes of workplace violence that far outpace the others. They aren’t always one and two in the same order on the list; sometimes, they flip spots, but they are always the top two.
- Fired employees returning to the workplace to commit violence
- Domestic violence that follows a worker to the workplace.
In the first situation, we generally have some security processes in place. When we fire someone, we cut off their access to technology, we don’t let them back to their work area unaccompanied, we escort them off the property, and we make everyone aware of what happened and that the person doesn’t belong in the workplace.
In the second situation, however, we tend to place all the responsibility on the individual employee. We hold them responsible for letting their personal lives interfere with work if their abusive partner calls too often or comes to the workplace and creates a distraction.
Maybe we shouldn’t do that. Maybe helping an employee escape an abusive situation is in our best interests. Maybe creating a space where we are aware of the danger and can easily identify it is better than having no clue what is about to happen.
Imagine, if you will, a workplace where management knows an employee is trying to escape domestic violence and has a process in place to identify the person they are trying to escape from, prevent them from accessing the building, and notify law enforcement of a violation of a restraining order. Would that make a difference? Or do we remain clueless about the situation, let the violent partner into the building, and create a volatile situation right there? Because that’s what we mostly do now. Almost nothing.
How would you react to domestic violence if you were to view it as a company security issue instead of a personal problem? There is plenty of evidence that it is a workplace issue. Employers could play a role in keeping their people safe if they took it seriously as a workplace issue.
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