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10/27/2008 - CAPPS DISCUSSES DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ON ABC 33/40
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CAPPS DISCUSSES DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ON ABC 33/40
Birmingham, Ala. — Oct. 27, 2008 — Sandy Capps, Director of Training and Development at American Behavioral, appeared as a featured guest on ABC 33/40’s “Talk of Alabama” today to discuss prevention of domestic violence in the workplace.
ABC 33/40 anchor Tracy Haynes interviewed Capps, who urged businesses to be proactive in dealing with the issue of domestic violence, which often spills over into the workplace.
“What we see a lot of times is that companies are reactive rather than proactive when it comes to domestic violence,” said Capps. “We encourage companies to first have a policy addressing domestic violence, in addition to their workplace violence policy, and to provide training to managers and supervisors on how to recognize when someone might be experiencing domestic violence and how to provide assistance to that employee.”
Domestic violence costs businesses nationwide upwards of $5 billion annually in medical costs, according to the Bureau of National Affairs, and hundreds of millions more in lost productivity, turnover and absenteeism.
Homicide is the leading cause of occupational death for women in the workplace, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. On average, 20 percent of those women were killed in the workplace by their partner.
“When a victim tries to get away from an abuser, one of the places he predictably knows that he can find her is the workplace,” said Capps. “We try to educate businesses on how to address those issues, because domestic violence does not stay at home; it creeps into the workplace.”
To view the segment, click below. Capps recently published a column regarding domestic violence in the workplace for the Birmingham Business Journal. The article can be read at http://birmingham.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2008/10/06/smallb2.html (subscription required).
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
About American Behavioral: American Behavioral, based in Birmingham, Ala., is a full-service behavioral health care organization providing Employee Assistance Program services, managed mental health care, pre-employment and promotional psychological testing, drug screening, manager and supervisor training, and critical-incident stress management. Founded in 1990, American Behavioral serves more than 100 companies with employees and families in all 50 states and Canada and provides behavioral health care services to approximately 925,000 covered lives. For more information, visit www.americanbehavioral.com .
Media Contacts: Tommy Palladino, 205-328-9334, ext. 4
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Video link: http://cfc.abc3340.com/abc3340/toa/videoondemand.cfm?id=25986&category=toa
