ASB gets DVFREE Tick from Shine to support staff wellbeing

Wednesday, 4 December 2019, 3:11 pm
Press Release: ASB Bank

ASB has been awarded the DVFREE Tick by Shine, demonstrating its commitment to create a domestic violence-free workplace where staff can feel safe and supported.

Anna Campbell, ASB acting Executive General Manager People says she is proud of the work the company has done to reach this milestone.

“We’re in the privileged position of being an organisation that can affect and influence change in our communities for the better. Working with Shine and achieving this DVFREE Tick is something which we hope will have an impact beyond our organisation and will encourage other companies to join as well. Our people are our priority, and ensuring we have a workplace that supports anyone who is affected by domestic violence is incredibly important to us,” says Campbell.

“To date, more than 200 of our People Leaders have been trained to support people affected by domestic violence in the workplace, which is fantastic. The team will now continue to train managers over the next 18 months, with the plan to have the majority of our people trained by June 2021,” says Campbell.

In order to achieve the DVFREE Tick, an employer must meet the DVFREE Tick criteria in the content of policy, procedures, information and awareness raising for all staff, and training managers and ‘First Responders.’ ‘First Responders’ are key staff trained to support staff who experience domestic violence, including creating workplace safety plans for affected staff.

Shine’s DVFREE and Policy Advisor Holly Carrington says, “As a collective force, employers can play a massive role in addressing New Zealand’s epidemic of domestic violence.”

“The team at ASB Bank has been very focused on creating an effective staff domestic violence programme. I am thrilled to congratulate ASB for being awarded the DVFREE Tick in recognition of the steps they have taken,” says Carrington.

Shine’s free guidelines for employers and information about DVFREE services and the DVFREE Tick are available at www.dvfree.org.nz, and can help employers take a best-practice approach, while also meeting new legal obligations under the Domestic Violence Victims Protection Act 2018 that went into force 1st April this year.

Employers awarded the DVFREE Tick are listed here, with more working towards the DVFREE Tick. Hundreds of employers have engaged with DVFREE training and policy consultation services, and well over one thousand have downloaded the DVFREE Guidelines for Policy and Procedures since January this year.

Key domestic violence stats in New Zealand:

• New Zealand has the highest reported rates of domestic violence in all developed countries

• On average, NZ Police respond to one domestic violence situation every four minutes

• More than three-quarters of family violence incidents here are not reported to police

• You can see more troubling stats here.

ends

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