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Essay on Domestic Violence in Workplace
Workplace violence is any act of aggression, physical assault or threatening or coercive behavior that causes physical or emotional harm and occurs in a work setting. It can occur between staff members, customers and staff and staff and bosses. It includes, but is not limited to incidents of beating, stabbing or shooting; suicide; rape; verbal abuse; threats, including bomb scares; obscene phone calls; and even sexual and verbal harassment. Types of assaults include pinching, biting, hitting, grabbing, kicking or being struck by a weapon. Almost any object can be used as a weapon. Workplace violence also includes acts of sabotage on work-site property.
Domestic violence is a safety and health issue with medical, emotional, personal, economic, and professional consequences. Approximately 2 million women are assaulted each year, 75 percent by intimate partners. Men can be victims of intimate partner abuse, as well: more than 800,000 men are raped and/or assaulted by a partner and 1 in 1,000 men are victimized by a partner every year (Lisa, 2002). Many of these victims are employed and spend a majority of their time at work. Although domestic violence usually occurs within the home, it carries over into the workplace in many ways.
Domestic violence commonly thought of as occurring only in the home, is also a workplace issue. Once a woman leaves an abusive partner, the workplace may become the only place the assailant can locate and harm her. From 35 percent to 56 percent of battered women in three separate studies reported that they were harassed by their batterers at work. Seventy percent of employed battered women report that their batterers called them at work and harassed them (Connie Stanley, 1992). For many victims of domestic violence, having a job is a key factor in successfully escaping a violent relationship.Homicide is the leading cause of death for women in the workplace.....
