Did you know that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men will be a victim of domestic violence? It can happen in hostels and it can happen in luxury hotels. I was a silent witness to domestic violence during a stay at a boutique hotel. I wrote about my experience on this blog asking if domestic violence training existed in the hotel industry. At the time, no one was willing to go on record to talk about this topic. Recently, I learned that this type of training does exist, online, and would like to share this resource with you.
Dr. Gina Anderson of Luma, an online educational training company, approached me about this topic and her company’s domestic violence training program targeted to hotel managers. After reading about my experience with domestic violence in a hotel she wanted to shed some light on this topic, and let me know about the opportunity Luma has created for the hotel and lodging industry in partnership with experts from the Chicago Police Department, one of the largest PD’s in the United States, to stand against domestic violence.
According to one of the experts who wrote the course, the challenge has been the lack of a comprehensive training to address the issue of domestic violence in hotels and lodging. Domestic Violence in this industry is both internal and external, making it especially important to mitigate acts of potential violence and reduce liabilities. This training meets this need.
Aileen Robinson a program development coordinator said, “domestic violence in the hotel industry is one of those ‘if we don’t talk about it, maybe it won’t happen here again’ topics.” Aileen has been offering training to hotel managers over the past few years in conjunction with CPD personnel.
Before we begin addressing how to stand against domestic violence, it is important to understand what domestic violence is, how to recognize it, and what our responsibility is toward domestic violence. Luma’s course, Responding to Domestic Violence in the Hospitality Industry, provides this understanding.
“Domestic Violence no longer remains behind closed doors. That is why it is important to realize, recognize, respond and refer to acts of domestic violence, their victims and their abusers appropriately, safely and knowledgeably,” said Dr. Cynthia Schumann, former Community Policing Sergeant, and Adjunct Professor at National Louis University.
The course, Responding to Domestic Violence in the Hospitality Industry, was developed by Dr. Cynthia Schumann and Aileen Robinson, both experts with 30 plus years working in law enforcement and domestic violence in the hospitality industry. Through the online training course offered to hotel management, I learned from Dr. Schumann, that,”… domestic violence goes to work every day with employees who are victims and employees who are their abusers. And guess what? Domestic violence travels with their victims and their abusers.”
Other information you can learn from the course centers around what you can do as a member of the hospitality industry to help prevent domestic violence.
The course also provides information about how important it is to collaborate with law enforcement. I learned the steps for dealing with domestic violence on property; call 911, designate specific personnel to respond to the situation, meet the police and escort them to the situation. Most importantly, you should never intervene in a domestic disturbance. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911 or contact local police.
To learn how your hotel may take the course Responding to Domestic Violence in the Hospitality Industry contact Luma at info@learnwithluma.com or (574)807-8148 ext. 1. You can read more about the course here. For additional domestic violence resources contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline (800) 799- SAFE.
Article and photography by travel writer Nancy D. Brown. This post is sponsored by Luma, however all opinions are my own.