The provincial government’s plan to allow 10 days paid leave for victims of sexual and domestic abuse is a good start, says Jennifer Davies, manager of clinical programs and services for Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis, but questions remain.
The proposed legislation by the Ontario government, to be offered in response to an employee having experienced or been threatened with sexual or domestic abuse, would allow up to a total of 15 weeks of unpaid leave, in addition to 10 paid days, per calendar year to seek medical attention, obtain victim services, counselling or legal assistance.
The proposed leave would apply to the employee or their child and the time could be taken without fear of the employee losing their job.
Victims of sexual or domestic violence often feel emotional and/or financial stress after seeking help, said Davies.
“Many women lose their jobs from the amount of time that they might be going to lawyer appointments or appearances in courts and medical reasons,” she said.
The systems a woman may need to navigate to receive help are not always emotionally supportive, said Davies.
She said applying for housing, looking for financial supports and seeking legal help can all become a very long process and that is one aspect that gives Davies pause when looking at the proposed legislation.
“Just because we gave them 10 days paid leave I don’t want the illusion to be that everything should be taken care of, because nothing gets wrapped up that nice and safe and quickly — it never does,” said Davies.
Accessing services like Women in Crisis can help women examine what all their options are and help them to navigate through what is often times a very complex and complicated system.
“Ten days is a recognition, a great start,” said Davies.
The proposed legislation was first presented earlier this week. If passed, Domestic or Sexual Violence Leave would come into effect as of Jan. 1, 2018.
Employees would need to have been employed for at least 13 consecutive weeks with the same employer to be eligible for the leave.
Asked about the potential economic impact offering such a leave could have, Davies wondered aloud why we as a society wouldn’t want to offer time off to victims.
“What are we afraid of? That women are going to abuse the system? That women are going to be getting help, which means that is going to cost some money within the employment standards? I don’t know — what’s the price you put on basic human rights?” She said.
One question Davies has about the proposed legislation is what evidence an employee will need to provide to qualify for the leave.
“That’s assuming a woman wants her employer to know. This (proposed legislation) says you get these paid days for this reason, which means you actually have to tell the reason you want this time off. Somebody may not be comfortable with that,” said Davies.
Also, Davies said she hopes education will be provided to employers about how to ensure their employee remains safe at all times.
Questions linger about what would happen if the abuser worked within the same office, or how an employer would handle the abuser showing up or calling to ask why the victim is not at work.
“It is asking employers to recognize that women and children have a right to be safe. They have a right to not live in violence,” said Davies.
Although questions remain about some of the finer details of the plan, Davies said the provincial government is moving in the right direction.
“I am just really happy to see these kinds of discussions are happening at that level of government,” said Davies.
