Break the Silence, Stop the Violence

Company Initiatives Raise Awareness about Domestic Violence, Encourage Open Dialogue

October was Domestic Violence Awareness Month and companywide efforts are shedding light on an issue that’s often considered hush-hush.

“There’s a lot of great work that has been done but there’s also a great deal that still needs to happen,” says Maria Luisa O’Neill, Program Services Coordinator at the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “We have laws and procedures we didn’t have before, but the awareness hasn’t grown much over the years.”

O’Neill says that all too often, the victim is viewed as responsible for the violence. But CCA is working to educate and support employees about this critical issue.

“As with other issues we address inside our facilities, repetition is important for education,” says Angel Martin, MSW, GSW, Assistant Warden at Winn Correction Center. “The more we educate our employees, the more comfortable they will become with the topic. This issue also affects the inmates in our custody.”

Equipping Employees

“As a company, we’ve realized that anything that affects employees personally or professionally affects operations,” Martin says.

But the things that affect employees aren’t always easily observable; a facility may run smoothly although employees are dealing with personal trauma, Martin says. That’s why it’s important to bring domestic violence concerns to the forefront.

Martin is also coordinator of CCA’s Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team, which responds to situations in which employees were exposed to trauma and has now begun addressing domestic violence. The team is comprised of CCA employees, some of whom have mental health backgrounds.

“Recently we identified several serious domestic violence situations involving CCA employees,” Martin explains. “It was a surprise to many that these employees were being victimized. After learning of these cases, we visited other facilities where we discovered other employees had dealt with this issue as well.”

CISM isn’t limited to serving employees who have directly experienced trauma though.

“The assistance CISM provides is not only for that person and his or her family, but it’s also for co-workers who identify with that situation or feel like they should have done something or should have known what was going on,” says Martin.

“We’re also creating awareness with the management team about how to discuss domestic violence with staff, signs to be aware of, and about the resources that are available to help staff who need it,” says Trish Barnard, CCA Senior Director, Employee Benefits. “It’s not an easy thing to discuss.”

Along with giving employees on-site guidance, CISM directs employees to additional resources.

“We link employees up with our company’s EAP and local organizations so they can support each other after we leave,” Martin says. The bottom line, she adds, is that employees should know how to take action.

From Hurting to Healing

A seminar last month at CCA’s Gadsden Correctional Facility allowed inmates to share personal stories of life after domestic violence.

“Warden Joyce Arnold and Assistant Warden Laura Bedard supported and facilitated this initiative wholeheartedly,” says Ronda Craig, Principal at Gadsden. “Because they see daily the consequences of domestic violence, they readily agreed that there was a need for such programming. Many inmates wrote poems and songs to share and we featured the music of Gadsden’s own all-female band.”

Local community leaders offered resources for inmates who have dealt with domestic violence and guest speaker Denise Wolford, President of All Women Marching for Hope Ministries, told her own story of victory over domestic violence.

The event was organized by Gadsden ESUBA (“abuse” spelled backwards) instructor Marva McCall. ESUBA is a 24-week course open to inmates who have experienced domestic violence and other forms of abuse. Its curriculum was written by Bedard and is used in state correctional institutions across Florida. “We took great pride in presenting this event as we fully realize the difficult life circumstances from which many of these women hail,” says Craig. “We also realize that many of them will return to these very same situations. It’s our hope that through education, they will see and understand that domestic violence isn’t ‘normal,’ and that they do have options.”

For domestic violence education and support, call:

The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE for access to crisis intervention, domestic violence information and referrals to local service providers 24 hours a day, or CorpCare Employee Assistance Program at 1-800-728-9444.

To learn more visit CCA's informational flyer.

By DeAndra Mack