Corporate Alliance To End Partner Violence And Verizon Wireless Team Up To Address Domestic Violence In The Workplace

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Domestic violence victims lose a total of nearly 8 million days of paid work a year, the equivalent of more than 32,000 full-time jobs.* The Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence (CAEPV) and Verizon Wireless have joined forces to increase employer and employee awareness of domestic violence as a workplace issue, and offer tools to respond to it through the CAEPV HopeLine® from Verizon Webinar Series.

The series consists of three webinars which will run through December. Domestic Violence and the Workplace: Three Case Studies in Practice, which was held last Friday, Sept. 23, 2011, examined current practices of employers addressing domestic violence as a workplace issue from three unique perspectives. Over 500 individuals attended this first in the series web conference, which reached capacity within weeks of the series announcement.

In commemoration of October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Telling Amy's Story – A Tool for Addressing Domestic Violence in the Workplace will be held on Oct. 26, 2011. This webinar will highlight how Telling Amy’s Story, a PBS documentary developed by Penn State and funded by the Verizon Foundation, has been successfully used at workplaces as a tool to educate employees and managers regarding domestic violence, and how this success can be replicated in other workplace settings. The third webinar in the series, Domestic Violence and the Workplace: Verizon Wireless' Train the Trainer Model, which will take place in December, will highlight the successful “train the trainer” program used by Verizon Wireless to address domestic violence at the workplace, and will show how other employers can replicate this model in other workplace settings.

“We are proud to partner with the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence on this important and often overlooked topic of domestic violence and the workplace,” said Alan Gardner, vice president of human resources for Verizon Wireless. “In response to this universal problem, we are working to train employers to recognize and assist employees in need, and direct them to appropriate resources and assistance.”

The CAEPV HopeLine from Verizon Webinar Series will be recorded and available at no cost at http://www.caepv.org/about/program_detail.php?refID=70. Other Corporate Alliance member organizations presenting at the webinar series include Liz Claiborne, Inc., Prudential, Kaiser Permanente and The World Bank Group.

“Through the generosity of Verizon, we are able to provide essential resources and tools on domestic violence and the workplace at no cost,” said Kim Wells, executive director for Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence. “It is important that employers are aware of the disturbing fact that domestic violence does not end at the door when employees come into the workplace and that work performance is significantly impacted as a result.”

For more information on the CAEPV HopeLine from Verizon Webinar Series, please visit http://www.caepv.org/about/program_detail.php?refID=70. HopeLine from Verizon puts the nation’s most reliable wireless network to work in the community by collecting no-longer-used wireless phones, batteries and accessories in any condition from any wireless service provider and turning them into support for domestic violence victims. To find out more about Verizon Wireless’ efforts to end domestic violence through HopeLine, go to www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline or follow @VZWElva on Twitter.

* Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States, US Centers for Disease Control. Report released April 28, 2003

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 106.3 million total wireless connections, including 89.7 million retail customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 83,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

About the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence
The Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence (http://www.caepv.org/) is a leading force in the fight against intimate partner violence and its effects on the workplace. It is the only national organization of its kind founded by business leaders and focused on the workplace. Since 1995, the Alliance has brought together dozens of progressive companies who exchange information, collaborate on projects, and use their influence to instigate change.

The Alliance offers extensive research, policy knowledge and issue expertise to the business community, including training, program guidance, and crisis consultation - with programs designed to make the workplace safe and to prevent intimate partner violence from impacting the workplace. For more information, visit www.caepv.org

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