Reposted from MarketWatch.com

Corporate America is currently grappling with sexual harassment in the workplace. But a new study suggests companies should tackle the issue of domestic violence too.

Perpetrators of domestic violence often use workplace hours to continue their abusive behavior, according to researchers at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto and Western University. The researchers worked with 22 partner assault programs in Ontario and conducted a survey with 500 perpetrators — 94% of whom were men — rather than the victims.

Another reason companies should not abdicate their duty of responsibility for their staff: 75% of victims face harassment from their partners even while at work. By learning more about the perpetrators, the researchers said it may be possible to prevent future behavior occurring.

• One-third of respondents said they are in contact with their current or former partners during work and engaging in arguments, emotionally abusive actions or monitoring their whereabouts.

• What’s more, a quarter of respondents said they use their workplace time to drop by their partners’ homes or workplaces and 20% said their co-workers were aware of this.

Companies should implement training to prevent domestic violence

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. About 27% of women and 11% of men have experienced domestic violence from an intimate partner through sexual or physical abuse, or by stalking, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We need to do this work prior to criminal charges,” said Katreena Scott, Canada Research chair in family violence prevention and intervention at OISE at the University of Toronto. Many of the training programs she sees in the workplace are limited to people who have a criminal charge, she added.

Also see: Rigid gender stereotypes tied to increased depression, violence and suicide in children

But the effects of domestic violence on women can be substantial, and long-lasting. Physically, women victims may suffer bruises, chronic fatigue, changes in eating and sleeping patterns, as well as reproductive problems, according to the Joyful Heart Foundation, a privately-funded organization that combats sexual, domestic and child abuse.

Mentally, they are at risk of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and alcohol and drug abuse in the years and decades after the abuse. The damaging effects of domestic violence can trickle down to children, too, as their mothers may feel they have no social network for support and, in extreme cases, may be too traumatized to take care of their children, according to one report.

Opportunities to help the victim are often ignored

Identifying perpetrators early on can help prevent abuse, Scott said. Nearly half of the men who participated in the survey said their workplaces were “closed, unsupportive and unfair” about domestic violence issues and most said they weren’t aware of any means of help or resources.

Unsurprisingly, only one-third of perpetrators have talked with their co-workers. And domestic violence has in some cases even directly or indirectly cost them jobs, according to 26% of the survey participants, either because of being let go after a criminal charge, or eventually being let go after constant tardiness and missed days.

Employers can watch out for signs of domestic violence

Domestic violence victims struggle with medical, emotional, financial and mental issues, including depression, anxiety and low self-esteem, according to a separate report from Partnership for Prevention, a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting health and preventing disease.

There’s a financial, as well as a social cost, for businesses. Domestic violence costs the U.S. economy $8.3 billion a year from medical costs and lost productivity, according to a 2004 report (there haven’t been any comprehensive studies on the economic toll of domestic violence since). Victims of domestic violence typically pay $1,775 more in medical costs than an employee who suffers from an illness or accident unrelated to domestic abuse, Partnership for Prevention found.

The good news: There is help out there for victims

About 20 people a minute are physically abused by a partner in the U.S., according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Some companies already have programs in place to help employees who are abusive or abused.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline can also help perpetrators and victims over the phone or online. Programs focus on behavior and causal factors for this behavior, and can lead to couples counseling or mental health treatments for abusers. States, cities and counties may also have programs and support lines in place to prevent or intervene in domestic violence cases.

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