Fort Hays University wants to teach businesses how to help employees going through abuse

People undergoing domestic abuse are more likely to lose their jobs. Fort Hays State University is trying to teach businesses how to change that.
TOPEKA, Kansas — Megan Shepard knows the strain of holding down a job while getting battered by a former partner.

She’s survived it.

But Shepard said she had advantages so many other people don’t. She never needed a shelter. She had family support. And her workplace served as a safe haven.

Yet many people enduring domestic abuse don’t always feel safe at work. Their abuser might be stalking or harrassing them. And that kind of trauma can cripple the focus needed to succeed on the job.

But Shepard’s advantages spared her that and kept financially stable enough to move away from her abuser.