Media Alert
For Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Contact: lisa@prsolutionsdc.com, 202-371-1997
What Employment Protections Have States Adopted to Support Survivors of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking?
When survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking go to work, they often face serious challenges — missed time, safety concerns, or job loss at precisely the time they need stability and income the most. A national survey of more than 2,000 survivors, released by Futures Without Violence and the National Domestic Violence Hotline late last year, found that four in five (79%) survivors said the domestic violence they experienced made it harder for them to work; and more than half (53%) did not disclose the violence to their employers due to fear of discrimination, job loss, or retaliation. This is due, in part, to the fact that 71% of survivors said they did not know if their city, county, state or territory has employment laws that protect employees facing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and/or stalking.
It doesn’t have to be that way, and some states have enacted laws to protect survivors – but unfortunately, many advocates, attorneys and survivors do not know what protections they have. To change that, Futures Without Violence has mapped out the state employment protections on the books in all 50 states and territories. Experts will describe the protections – including new resources in California, Florida, Minnesota, and West Virginia – on a webinar featuring experts from around the country:
Work Without Fear Webinar
Wednesday, May 6 at 3 pm EDT/Noon PDT
With
Ana Van Balen, Futures Without Violence
Bella Book, Futures Without Violence
Noelle Polk Clark, CASA Pinellas (Florida)
Natalia Gottschalk, Legal Aid at Work (California)
Rocio Molina, ValorUS (California)
Robin Runge, University of Oregon Law School
Sami Sexton, Standpoint (Minnesota)
Samuel “Raymie” White, West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Shubhi Rao, Uplevyl
The briefing is open to media. Register here.
Also on the webinar, FUTURES and its AI partner Uplevyl, will describe their new AI tool, coming this Fall, to help survivors anywhere in the country identify workplace protections when they need them.
Reporters can contact lisa@prsolutionsdc.com to request a recording of the briefing.
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ABOUT FUTURES WITHOUT VIOLENCE:
For almost 40 years, Futures Without Violence (FUTURES) has been building healthier, safer and more prosperous communities. More information is available at www.futureswithoutviolence.org
