Facebook has announced that it will begin offering 20 days of paid leave to employees who experience gender-based violence. The company previously offered unpaid leave to survivors, but it was limited to employees in the U.S. Now, Facebook employees across the globe will be able to access up to 20 days of paid leave if they or a family or household member experiences domestic abuse or sexual assault.
Under this new policy, employees will have to tell their managers they need an emergency leave, but they are not required to disclose the reason or provide a police report or any other documentation.
The number 1 reason survivors stay in or return to situations of abuse is that they can’t afford to stay safe. Providing paid and protected leave to employees experiencing gender-based violence allows survivors to deal with the consequences of harm without worrying about losing their job.
Contact FreeFrom’s Director of Systems Change Initiatives, Amy Durrence, at amy.durrence@freefrom.org if you’d like to work with us to implement a paid leave policy at your business.