Enabling the Epistemic Authority of Domestic Violence Survivors in a Work Setting

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Denisse Schweinsberg
Stephen Schweinsberg

Abstract

Domestic violence is a social issue, which can cause immense pain and suffering to people in our community. However, it also presents a challenge to business. How can businesses offer support to domestic violence survivors to navigate an immediate crisis situation or, if they wish, to empower survivors with the epistemic authority to apply their own personal experiences and knowledge to affect change in an organisation? In this paper we argue that managers have an important role to play in enabling the epistemic authority of members of the workforce which have been affected by domestic violence. We argue that the ability of a manager to enable a domestic violence survivor is grounded in that manager’s willingness to critically examine their own sense of self. Will they be guided by the prevailing cultural understanding around domestic violence in their organisation? Or will they be guided by their own values and understanding? We examine these questions with reference to West’s (2008) model of existential ethical decision making.

Article Details

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Articles (refereed)
Author Biographies

Denisse Schweinsberg, University of New England, Armidale, Australia

Denisse Schweinsberg is a professional with 20 years’ experience in various industries including real estate, property, energy, telecommunications, infrastructure, government, finance, retail, and transport. Denisse also has lived experience and is a survivor of domestic violence.

Stephen Schweinsberg, University of Technology Sydney, Australia

Stephen Schweinsberg is a Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Management at the UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney. Stephen has an active research interest in academic knowledge formation and in the social setting of organisations. Recent research has been published in Annals of Tourism Research, Tourism Recreation Research and Technological Forecasting and Social Change. Stephen has been happily married to Denisse for 14 years and is proud to have contributed to this paper.