When companies break the taboo of domestic violence

At forty-three, Sophie, a salesperson in a pharmaceutical company, does not let anything leak out about what she experiences at home. And yet, the office is the only place where she feels safe, sheltered from the blows of her spouse. His manager feels it but, helpless, says nothing. Until the day when her companion bursts into the hall of the company threatening her. Since then, a security guard accompanies her to the parking lot, or takes her out the back door. Supported by the HR department, she decided a few weeks ago to file a complaint.

It is because she herself was the victim of violence, going so far as an attempt at strangulation by her companion, that Yaël Jacquey-Dehaese, fifty years old, CSR project manager at Société Générale, took up the subject. head-on within the bank. When the tragedy occurs three years ago, this energetic blonde, committed to gender equality, receives eight days off work. Without hesitation, she informs her colleagues. “The company reacted very well, but they didn’t know they could do more and neither did I. For example, I would have needed to see a social worker, to breathe for a few days, to have temporary financial assistance for legal or psychological support, ”she analyzes.