As teachers, it is essential that we recognize and address the other chilling epidemic that the stay-at-home order has revealed: domestic violence.
ETT’s Status of Women and the Health and Safety committees remind all members that domestic violence can be related to workplace violence. A person who has a personal relationship with a worker – such as a spouse or former spouse, current or former intimate partner or a family member – may physically harm, or attempt or threaten to physically harm, that worker at work. In these situations, domestic violence is considered workplace violence.
From the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (Section 32.0.4):
“Employers who are aware of, or who ought reasonably to be aware of, domestic violence that would likely expose a worker to physical injury in the workplace must take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances to protect the worker.”
Resources
Recognizing Physical and Sexual Violence [PDF]
COVID-19, Gender, and Sex [PDF]
Workplace Violence in School Boards [PDF]
