As we head into the festive season, while we all hope for a fun and relaxing time, it is important to remember that holidays like Christmas and New Year’s Day are difficult for many as they tend to be peak times for family violence-related incidents.
December is the busiest time for experiencing abuse with incident rates remaining high during January. For many people, their safe spaces, such as work and school are often closed, and for people who use violence, the time of year may amplify the power and control dynamic in a relationship, leading to an increase in the use of violence.
There is no one thing that causes domestic and family violence, however several contributing factors, including stress, cost of living factors, financial insecurity, and alcohol, can intersect and exacerbate situations.
What to do if you or a colleague need support
At Monash Health, we provide a supportive and non-judgmental response to employees affected by family violence. Managers and our People and Culture Business Partners are trained to respond to employees who disclose family violence.
If you or a colleague need support, visit our Family Violence workplace response page on the Family Violence intranet page or contact the Monash Health Employee Assistance Program (EAP) on 1300 687 327 (available 24/7 including holidays).
Know where to get help
Support for managers, employees and patient-related secondary consults with the family violence team is available through the family violence intranet page. Information includes:
- Workplace response, including guidance and education for managers, family violence support available to our employees and support services available
- Support for clinicians, including our family violence policy, sensitive practice clinical guideline, intermediate practice procedure and information on family violence and child information sharing
- Education and training options for managers and employees
You can learn more about our Strengthening Hospital Responses to Family Violence on our Family Violence intranet page or by contacting our family violence team directly via: familyviolenceeducation@monashhealth.org.
Approved by: Adjunct Professor Katrina Nankervis