Women’s Perception of Workplace Violence
Women’s Perception of Workplace Violence
I work within the industry of “Workplace Violence” and when I mention that to people who ask me what I do, they sometimes immediately think because I am a woman that it is to do with “Domestic Violence”.
The subject I deal with on a daily basis does affect both sexes and also can depend on the role of the job, or the responsibility that goes with it, but also at times it is evident that certain roles do not have a specific sex to tag towards them, and therefore when it comes to adequate training it is overlooked by many organisations that need to respond to the risk faced by their staff and especially females.
Workplace violence is a subject that incorporates lone working, dealing with the public and even telephone conflict and with my experience at Quell I have met many women who have faced different forms of abuse, threats and assaults within their role and all of this could have been prevented, deterred or defused by adequate training and development.
The role of a woman in the workplace should not be treated or looked at differently, however when we are put in certain situations that can be classed as risky, we should be given the right support to either escape or defuse aggression, and over the years I have personally seen incidents that with the right training has enabled women to safely leave potentially dangerous situations.
My advice to you is to look at your role and think do I come across any form of abuse, threats and assaults and then look at the measures put in place to protect you, from a clear guide or policy through to equipment and finally the training you should receive.
Remember that when we talk about abuse and threats, it is simply easier to recognise that a threat is when someone states a comment that shows intent to cause you harm that jeopardises your safety whether through indirect or direct comments or actions.
Now if the above sentence sounds familiar and you have nothing in place in the manner of guidance or training, you need to speak to your line manager for support.
If you have any questions or need more details on the rapidly growing subject of workplace violence, then please do not hesitate to contact me at Quell on our details below.
Blog by Hilary Quigley