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Violence in the workplace in the United Kingdom

    Our latest research examines two nationally representative datasets, The Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS) and the UK Household Panel Survey (UKHLS), to examine variance in the prevalence of workplace violence by industrial sector and occupational group.

    The authors, Dr Vanessa Gash and Dr Niels Blom, found 28% of commercial businesses reported criminal victimisation on their premises in the past year, including 8% reporting violent victimisation (namely assaults, robberies, and threats).

    Using individual-level data, the report also found 8% of employees had been threatened, insulted or physically attacked at work in the past year, and a similar percentage have felt unsafe at work, with public sector workers most at risk.

    The authors call for enhanced recognition of the problem of workplace violence for a significant proportion of workers in multiple different sectors, alongside improved policies to minimise workplace violence going forward.

    Figure 1. Prevalence of Violence and Fear of Violence in the Workplace by Sector, UKHLS data 2020-2021, weighted estimates

    The report can be downloaded here: VISION Policy Report – Violence in the workplace in the UK: Business and individual-level exposure

    Acknowledgements:

    The report benefited from input and insights from the Home Office, who provided us with access to the Commercial Victimisation Survey used here.

    Photograph licensed by Adobe Stock

    Presentations from the 2024 VISION Annual Conference

      The presentations from the 3rd VISION annual conference are now available for downloading.

      The event was held at Kings College London, Strand campus, on 11 June. The theme was Violence prevention in research and policy: Bridging silos. Keynote speakers, Dr Claudia Garcia-Moreno (World Health Organisation) and Professor Katrin Hohl (City, UoL) considered the changes needed for effective violence prevention from the perspectives of health and justice. Three symposiums highlighted interdisciplinary research from the VISION consortium and partners on:

      – Violence against older people: Challenges in research and policy;

      – Learning across statutory review practices: Origins, ambitions and future directions; and

      – Responding to experiences and expressions of interpersonal violence in the workplace

      Approximately 80 academics, central and local government officials, practitioners, and voluntary and community sector organisations attended from a range of health and crime / justice disciplines.

      All the slides that could be shared are available below. Please feel free to download.

      Photo caption: Symposium 3, ‘Responding to experiences and expressions of interpersonal violence in the workplace’. From left to right: Chair, Dr Olumide Adisa (University of Suffolk) and Panellists Dr Vanessa Gash (City, UoL), Dr Alison Gregory (Alison Gregory Consulting), Catherine Buglass (Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse) and Dr Niels Blom (City, UoL)

      Professor Gene Feder, VISION Director – Welcome – 1 download

      Welcome_VISION-Annual-Conference-2024Download

      Keynote Speaker, Dr Claudia Garcia-Moreno – Violence against women: From research to policy and action – 1 download

      Keynote-Speaker-2_Research-to-policy-and-action_2Download

      Symposium 1 – Violence against older people: Challenges in research and policy – 4 downloads (Hourglass, Office for National Statistics, Public Health Wales & VISION)

      Symposium-1_Older-people-and-violence_HourglassDownload
      Symposium-1_Older-people-and-violence_ONSDownload
      Symposium-1_Older-people-and-violence_PHWDownload
      Symposium-1_Older-people-and-violence_VISIONDownload

      Symposium 2 – Learning across statutory review practices: Origins, ambitions and future directions – 1 download

      Symposium-2_Statutory-Review-Practice_AllDownload

      Symposium 3 – Responding to experiences and expressions of interpersonal violence in the workplace – 3 downloads (Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse, and 2 from VISION)

      Symposium-3_Violence-and-the-workplace_VISIONDownload
      Symposium-3_Violence-and-the-workplace_EIDADownload
      Symposium-3_Violence-and-the-workplace_VISION-2Download

      VISION Policy Series: The impact of intimate partner violence on job loss and time off work in the UK

        Key research findings

        The latest research by VISION colleagues, Vanessa Gash and Niels Blom at City, finds serious negative effects of intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) on labour market outcomes, with 3.6% of those who experienced intimate partner violence losing their jobs because of the abuse. Furthermore, 1 in 10 of those who experienced intimate partner violence took a period of leave from work, with 1 in 4 of those who took leave needing to take a month or more off work.

        Based on a large statistically representative sample for England and Wales, this research is one of the first to examine different types of IPVA, with five categories distinguished in the analysis.

        The report examines differences between those who experienced; (1) physical abuse, (2) sexual abuse, (3) stalking, (4) coercive or controlling behaviour, as well as those who were (5) threatened with abuse by a current or former intimate partner. There were strong differences in prevalence of IPVA by sex, with women disproportionately exposed to threats (34% compared to 15% for men) and to sexual violence (7% compared to 3% for men). Additionally, compared to men, women were more likely to report multiple types of violence and abuse.

        Job loss is associated with all five forms of IPVA, and the risks were highest for those who experienced: stalking, sexual violence as well as physical threats by an intimate partner. The research also includes qualitative findings from those with lived experience of IPVA and abuse. Participants noted an ongoing stigmatisation of victims of abuse, which had serious impacts on disclosure. Victim-survivors noted their fear of being declared ‘unfit for work’ and of becoming a ’marked person’ should they disclose their abuse to relevant managers.

        Policy implications

        • Though IPVA was found to have significant effects on victims’ experiences at work, those with lived experience noted a reluctance to disclose IPVA to relevant managers.
        • Employers may therefore want to consider enhanced IPVA and DA support systems for employees in the workplace.
        • While we can expect enhanced support to improve job retention and productivity, we currently lack the appropriate data to directly examine these effects

        For further information please download the full report below and / or contact Dr Vanessa Gash at vanessa.gash.1@city.ac.uk.

        Short-report-Labour-market-consequences-of-IPVADownload

        About the authors

        Dr Vanessa Gash is a Reader in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at City and a member of the UKPRP VISION team based at the Violence & Society Centre.

        Dr Niels Blom is a Research Fellow at the Violence & Society Centre and a member of the UKPRP VISION team.

        Mental health in the workplace: how employers should respond to domestic violence

          This event is in the past.

          VISION member Sally McManus will be talking at a Westminster Insight event on Supporting Women’s Health in the Workplace on 20 March 2024.

          Sally will use a life-course approach to understanding women’s mental health and wellbeing at work, including the impact of the psychosocial working environment, bullying and harassment at work, and what support and signposting employers can offer in relation to domestic violence.

          For further information, please contact Sally at sally.mcmanus@city.ac.uk

          Photo by Etty Fidele on Unsplash