Section 820 ILCS 180/5 - FindingsThe General Assembly finds and declares the following:
(1) Domestic, sexual, and gender violence affects many persons without regard to age, race, educational level, socioeconomic status, religion, or occupation.(2) Domestic, sexual, and gender violence has a devastating effect on individuals, families, communities and the workplace.(3) Domestic violence crimes account for approximately 15% of total crime costs in the United States each year.(4) Violence against women has been reported to be the leading cause of physical injury to women. Such violence has a devastating impact on women's physical and emotional health and financial security.(5) According to recent government surveys, from 1993 through 1998 the average annual number of violent victimizations committed by intimate partners was 1,082,110, 87% of which were committed against women.(6) Female murder victims were substantially more likely than male murder victims to have been killed by an intimate partner. About one-third of female murder victims, and about 4% of male murder victims, were killed by an intimate partner.(7) According to recent government estimates, approximately 987,400 rapes occur annually in the United States, 89% of the rapes are perpetrated against female victims.(8) Approximately 10,200,000 people have been stalked at some time in their lives. Four out of every 5 stalking victims are women. Stalkers harass and terrorize their victims by spying on the victims, standing outside their places of work or homes, making unwanted phone calls, sending or leaving unwanted letters or items, or vandalizing property.(9) Employees in the United States who have been victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking too often suffer adverse consequences in the workplace as a result of their victimization.(10) Victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking face the threat of job loss and loss of health insurance as a result of the illegal acts of the perpetrators of violence.(11) The prevalence of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and other violence against women at work is dramatic. Approximately 11% of all rapes occur in the workplace. About 50,500 individuals, 83% of whom are women, were raped or sexually assaulted in the workplace each year from 1992 through 1996. Half of all female victims of violent workplace crimes know their attackers. Nearly one out of 10 violent workplace incidents is committed by partners or spouses.(12) Homicide is the leading cause of death for women on the job. Husbands, boyfriends, and ex-partners commit 15% of workplace homicides against women.(13) Studies indicate that as much as 74% of employed battered women surveyed were harassed at work by their abusive partners.(14) According to a 1998 report of the U.S. General Accounting Office, between one-fourth and one-half of domestic violence victims surveyed in 3 studies reported that the victims lost a job due, at least in part, to domestic violence.(15) Women who have experienced domestic violence or dating violence are more likely than other women to be unemployed, to suffer from health problems that can affect employability and job performance, to report lower personal income, and to rely on welfare.(16) Abusers frequently seek to control their partners by actively interfering with their ability to work, including preventing their partners from going to work, harassing their partners at work, limiting the access of their partners to cash or transportation, and sabotaging the child care arrangements of their partners.(17) More than one-half of women receiving welfare have been victims of domestic violence as adults and between one-fourth and one-third reported being abused in the last year.(18) Sexual assault, whether occurring in or out of the workplace, can impair an employee's work performance, require time away from work, and undermine the employee's ability to maintain a job. Almost 50% of sexual assault survivors lose their jobs or are forced to quit in the aftermath of the assaults.(19) More than one-fourth of stalking victims report losing time from work due to the stalking and 7% never return to work.(20)(A) According to the National Institute of Justice, crime costs an estimated $450,000,000,000 annually in medical expenses, lost earnings, social service costs, pain, suffering, and reduced quality of life for victims, which harms the Nation's productivity and drains the Nation's resources. (B) Violent crime accounts for $426,000,000,000 per year of this amount. (C) Rape exacts the highest costs per victim of any criminal offense, and accounts for $127,000,000,000 per year of the amount described in subparagraph (A).(21) The Bureau of National Affairs has estimated that domestic violence costs United States employers between $3,000,000,000 and $5,000,000,000 annually in lost time and productivity. Other reports have estimated that domestic violence costs United States employers $13,000,000,000 annually.(22) United States medical costs for domestic violence have been estimated to be $31,000,000,000 per year.(23) Ninety-four percent of corporate security and safety directors at companies nationwide rank domestic violence as a high security concern.(24) Forty-nine percent of senior executives recently surveyed said domestic violence has a harmful effect on their company's productivity, 47% said domestic violence negatively affects attendance, and 44% said domestic violence increases health care costs.(25) Employees, including individuals participating in welfare to work programs, may need to take time during business hours to: (A) obtain orders of protection or civil no contact orders;(B) seek medical or legal assistance, counseling, or other services; or(C) look for housing in order to escape from domestic or sexual violence.Amended by P.A. 101-0221,§ 4-5, eff. 1/1/2020.Amended by P.A. 096-0635,§ 5, eff. 8/24/2009.Added by P.A. 093-0591, § 5, eff. 8/25/2003.