Business, government and labor leaders, and domestic violence experts from 17 states met in Boston Friday and Saturday to develop an action plan to engage more of the nation's employers in efforts to stop domestic violence and help victims of abuse. 

The two-day Corporate Citizenship Initiative on Domestic Violence Conference, sponsored by the Family Violence  Prevention Fund (FVPF), attracted top leaders from American Express, Blue Shield of California, the Coalition of Labor Union Women, John Hancock, and the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, among others. Featured speakers included: Boston First Lady Angela Menino; Verizon Wireless President and CEO Dennis Strigl; HomeGoods President Jerome Rossi; and Barbara Marlowe of Mintz Levin and Employers Against Domestic Violence. "This conference is a historic event that can dramatically strengthen the workplace response to domestic violence," said FVPF Executive Director Esta Soler. "Most victims of domestic violence are working women, and the violence can follow them to work. The programs and policies presented at the conference will more fully engage employers in efforts to stop abuse." At the conference, the FVPF released a Workplace Training Resource Kit for Employers and Domestic Violence Advocates. It contains easy-to-use training components with accompanying overheads and hand-outs for employees, managers and business leaders. The Training Resource Kit was developed in collaboration with Blue Shield of California and funded by Blue Shield of California and The Hitachi Foundation. Conference participants came from Arizona, California, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, and West Virginia. The conference was funded by: The Hitachi Foundation; Blue Shield of California; Verizon Wireless; the Office for Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice; and  Employers Against Domestic Violence.

"Reprinted and adapted from 'News Flash' (http://www.fvpf.org/newsflash), an online newsletter of the Family Violence Prevention Fund."