This text is part of the special booklet 33rd congress of the FTQ
For feminist activists from the Quebec Federation of Labor (FTQ), domestic violence is one of the union’s priorities. They chose to take it head-on.
For a long time, we had the impression that domestic violence was something private, ”says Jessica Olivier-Nault, director of the feminist action and pay equity department of the FTQ. “But now we understand that the barrier between personal life and professional life is an artificial barrier,” she says.
One in three employees are victims of domestic violence, according to a study by the Canadian Labor Congress (CLC) and the University of Western Ontario, published in 2014. More than half (53.5%) said that this violence continued in their workplace.
Consequences everywhere
Being followed, being harassed by phone or text message, the aggressor who communicates with colleagues or with the employer… So many acts that can have a negative impact on the professional life of the victims. Whether it is physical, verbal, sexual, psychological or economic, domestic violence harms the performance of 81.9% of victims, and leads 8.5% of them to the loss of their job, reveals the study of the CTC.
In addition to the already considerable impact on the person undergoing violence, “it is the entire workplace that is affected”, explains Ms.me Olivier-Nault: by showing up at the victim’s workplace, the aggressor can put all his colleagues in danger.
Employers are not spared either. In 2012, a study for the federal Department of Justice estimated the cost of domestic violence at $79 million, from administrative costs to lost productivity.
If the figures are dated, the problem is still relevant: 14 feminicides have been recorded in Quebec, for the year 2022.
From recognition to action
Since 2021, domestic violence in the workplace has also been legally recognized. Under the Act to modernize the occupational health and safety system (LMRSST), employers must now ensure the protection of their workers exposed to a situation of violence in their workplace, including domestic violence.
To ensure that this law is put into practice, the feminist action and pay equity department trains union delegates to “detect the signs and support [la personne victime de violence] with the employer,” says Nathaly Guillemette, vice-president representing women on the executive committee of the FTQ. The training allows some to “go beyond their prejudices” and “understand what the cycle of violence is”, she explains, a first step towards prevention.
A program has also been set up in partnership with the Caisse Desjardins des travailuses et des travailuses unis: in collaboration with shelters, financial counselors have been trained to support survivors in a process enabling them to “regain control on their financial autonomy. The collective agreements of some unions affiliated to the trade union center also provide for paid leave for people who experience domestic violence.
“With the housing crisis, the increasingly expensive grocery basket, prices rising everywhere […]we didn’t want people to stay in a toxic environment because of money, ”says Jessica Olivier-Nault.
A brick to the building
It is important to fight against domestic violence by promoting economic independence, of course, but also by positioning oneself “against all forms of discrimination”, adds Ms.me Guillemette.
An approach that is part of the new orientation of the feminist action and pay equity service, formerly the status of women and pay equity service, on files relating to the living and working conditions of women , which represent 40% of its members.
Beyond the change of name, a commitment: that “to increase the influence and scope of our actions [et] to create ties and solidarities within the Quebec feminist movement,” said Ms.me Olivier-Nault, but also “to affirm loud and clear that feminism is alive and well at the central [syndicale]and that our feminism is an intersectional, inclusive, militant feminism”.
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the To have to, relating to marketing. The drafting of To have to did not take part.
This special content was produced by Le Devoir’s special publications team, reporting to marketing. The editorial staff of Le Devoir did not take part.