Domestic violence is a widespread epidemic and many women bear this curse in private and never tell anyone. I was one of those women who by day was a competent business executive (see www.nancysstory.com) and at home a battered wife.  Corporations that we all work for employ many women in these circumstances costing those corporations billions of dollars annually.

According to a study released in 2007 (http://caepv.org/getinfo/facts_stats.php?factsec=1) intimate partner violence costs the United States $70 billion annually.  And most of the costs associated with this were from lost productivity ($64.4 billion) with the remaining $5.6 billion spent on medical care. Those are just 2 startling statistics, there are many more.

As we learn from this study domestic violence is not just a “private matter” but has far reaching consequences for the corporate world and our society at large.  The woman in the next office to you may be a victim, the women you may see everyday buying coffee may be a victim.  I know. I was that anonymous woman. That is only one reason why “The Business of Me” can be a vital program in many corporations and shelters across the country.

As I have said in a previous blog post acclaimed Yale University anthropologist, David Levinson, in a study he conducted of family violence that focused on battered women (Family Violence in Cross-Cultural Perspective, Sage Publications), found that in the 90 societies that he studied incidents of battering were practically non-existent when women have economic independence and support from other women.

And that is what “The Business of Me” strives to accomplish.