HRM CHRONICLES
Tackling Violence
Angela continued : “ In creating awareness we confronted the stereotyping of domestic violence in various communities . It is shameful that wife-beating is still a condoned practice in some counties .” Since I hail from one of the reportedly notorious counties , I meekly said : “ Let ’ s not bring our communities into this matter . Domestic violence is about human behavior gone berserk that need to be stopped on its tracks by all of us .”
Angela did not want to contradict me . Instead , she said : “ Each gender has a moral responsibility to identify and address marital issues that are a breeding ground for domestic violence . Violence is bound to erupt if couples continue hiding their misunderstandings under the carpet without resolving them .”
Giving examples from the first world , Angela said : “ Progressive corporations have developed policies that would discourage employees from resorting to violence at the home front . The challenge in implementing such policies was obtaining incriminating evidence especially on psychological violence .”
Required Legislation
Daudi was concerned that domestic violence policies at workplaces in Kenya would require blessings from amendments to the current labor laws . Passing the amendments in Parliament might be a tall order due to social misconceptions on domestic violence . COTU , FKE and the Ministry of Labor would be the prime movers of legislation intended to eliminate domestic violence in Kenya .
Angela added : “ Already ILO has made recommendations that would guide its member nations in developing relevant legislation to curb both domestic and workplace violence .”
I gave an example of organizations whose CEOs address employees on a regular basis . Such fora could be used to express concern over increasing incidences of domestic violence . I cautioned : “ To ignore the consequences of domestic violence was like putting up with loud noises from your neighbor and expecting to sleep soundly .” Employees should be encouraged to improve their family relationships through open communication and amicable conflict resolutions .
Angela emphasized : “ Employees with marital problems should bite the bullet and access available company counselling services . Learning and Development Managers need to mount seminars on enhancing family relationships .”
As we were about to close our meeting , Daudi asked : “ Is stopping domestic violence an entry point for employers to encroach into employees ’ private lives ?” Angela quickly replied : “ Employers were unlikely to pry into employees ’ personal lives unless instability at family level boomeranged to the workplace .” ■
Samson Osero is an Independent Human Resource Development Consultant and Author of the book ‘ Transition Into Retirement ’. You can commune with him on this or related matters via email at :
Samsonosero @ gmail . com .