Domestic violence is more than a family issue. It is an economic one.

A domestic abuser may continuously make his partner late for work. A victim may call in sick to nurse injuries her abuser inflicted. She may be less productive because she cannot keep her mind on her work. If she leaves him, the abuser may call her employer to cause trouble.

Sometimes, just bearing the marks of abuse can be enough for the victim to lose her job.

"I have worked with women who have been fired because of a black eye," said Susan Koerner, victim witness coordinator for the Kootenai County Prosecutor's Office.

Women also miss work because of court dates and get fired because the perpetrator is stalking them, creating disruptions in the workplace, said Theresa Staples, who was the court program director for the North Idaho Violence Prevention Center for seven year.

"There is a very large financial impact on society," she said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated the costs of lost productivity associated with intimate partner violence at $1.8 billion according to a study done in 2003. The CDC also found that victims of severe violence lose the paid work equivalent of 32,000 full-time jobs every year.

A 2005 expert brief prepared for the United Nations also listed as costs the time co-workers spend covering for victims of domestic abuse, time spent on the phone, costs for searching and training for her replacement if she must leave her job, and various resulting administrative costs.

How domestic violence affects the economy and the workplace in North Idaho is unknown.

"We just don't have enough information," said Idaho Department of Labor regional labor economist Kathryn Tacke.

Tacke said it can have long-term economic consequences, hurting children's long-term ability to earn money because it affects their schooling, self confidence and ability to trust other people.

In the shorter term, domestic violence may also create productivity problems at work, and danger for co-workers who can get caught in the crossfire, Tacke said.

"They (employers) always do their best to protect employees who are in those situations, but we don't have a way of quantifying what that cost is," Tacke said.

Tomorrow: Growing up in a culture of relationship violence.

About this series:

• October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This is the second of a four-part series about domestic violence in North Idaho.

Crisis call resource list:

• National Domestic Violence Hotline, 24-hour line - (800) 799-SAFE (7233)

• RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network), 24-hour line - (800) 656-HOPE (4673)

• Post Falls Police Victim Services Unit, 24-hour line - (208) 773-1080

• North Idaho Violence Prevention Center, Coeur d'Alene, 24-hour line - (208) 664-1443