It’s time to end the silence on domestic violence

'One-third of our adult lives is spent at work,' says Aline Santos, EVP, Marketing and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer. 'This puts employers like Unilever in a unique position to create a workplace culture where people know they can access support safely and securely.

'We have pledged to proactively create a safe and inclusive workplace,' she adds. 'One where employees can seek help without stigma and where staff have access to basic training to know how to respond appropriately if they feel a colleague is potentially at risk.

'All of this is detailed in our Global Domestic Violence and Abuse Policy which ensures staff are provided with access to 'safe leave', flexible working conditions and access to counselling and support services should they ever need them,' she adds.

To this end, in a business first on International Women's Day, Unilever is offering businesses and organisations open access to its policy and how it supports colleagues who have experienced abuse. 'We hope that by sharing what we have learnt shaping our policy, it will help employers that currently don't have anything in place,' Aline says.