The biggest barrier to reporting domestic abuse isn't fear of the abuser, but fear of the boss.
April 14, 2026
Original Paper
Effect of Employment Protection on Domestic Violence
SSRN · 6459699
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The Takeaway
When California protected victims from being fired for taking time to seek help, reports of domestic violence jumped by 14%. It proves that domestic violence is an economic crisis where job security is often the only thing standing between a victim and safety.
From the abstract
This paper documents the effects of employment protections for victims of domestic violence as established by California's Senate Bill 400 implemented in January 2014 on the reporting of intimate partner violence. Results indicate that rates of intimate partner violence reports increased by 14 percent following the enactment of the law. This appears to be primarily driven by Black and Hispanic victims. Further, the increase is concentrated in tracts with higher unemployment rate and poverty rate