Corporate social responsibility and domestic violence

This entry begins with a brief description of two phenomena of twenty-first-century societies: the persistent problem of domestic violence and the dissolving boundaries between home and work. The entry then discusses the challenges these two phenomena present for ethical reasoning about corporate social responsibility in relation to employees affected by domestic violence. A number of ethical frameworks for understanding these challenges are discussed. The final section of this entry focusses upon six specific questions for businesses to ask when addressing the impacts of domestic violence in the workplace: (i) the question of leave entitlements for workers affected by domestic violence, (ii) the challenge of dealing with privacy concerns, (iii) dealing with workplace safety issues raised by domestic violence, (iv) whether and how to establish a workplace support network for affected workers, (v) whether and how to provide counselling and referral services, and (vi) how to manage the enterprise relationship with wider society in relation to domestic violence.