WORKPLACE VIOLENCE

PREVENTION

Prevention of harassment
 Definition

Workplace violence is any physical assault, threatening

behavior, or verbal abuse occurring in the work setting
A workplace may be any location either permanent or
temporary where an employee performs any work-
related duty
 Workplace Violence Includes:

• Beatings • Threats or obscene

• Stabbings phone calls
• Suicides • Intimidation
• Shootings • Harassment of any
• Rapes nature
• Near-suicides • Being followed,
sworn or shouted at
• Psychological trauma
 Examples

• Verbal threats to inflict bodily harm; including vague

or covert threats
• Attempting to cause physical harm; striking, pushing
and other aggressive physical acts against another
person
 Examples

• Verbal harassment; abusive or offensive language,

gestures or other discourteous conduct towards
supervisors, fellow employees, or the public
• Disorderly conduct, such as shouting, throwing or
pushing objects, punching walls, and slamming doors
Examples

• Making false, malicious or unfounded statements

against coworkers, supervisors, or subordinates
which tend to damage their reputations or
undermine their authority
Examples

• Inappropriate remarks, such as making delusional

statements
• Fascination with guns or other weapons, bringing
weapons into the workplace
Statistics

• Most common was simple assaults: 1.5 million a

year
• Aggravated assault: 396,000
• Rapes and sexual assaults: 51,000
• Robberies: 84,000
• homicides: nearly 1,000
 Cont…

• Contrary to our general belief that India is safe for

children and women
• more than half of Indian kids are abused (much worse
than US or Europe)
• more unfortunately, it’s not done by outsiders but
relatives and family members.
• “We only take a false pride of the fact that 70% of the
children never reported the abuse”.
 Cont…

• Violence against women is the fastest-growing crime in

India
• a recent study concluded that every 26 minutes a woman
is molested,
• every 34 minutes a rape takes place,
• and every 43 minutes a woman is kidnapped,
• according to the Home Ministry's National Crime
Records Bureau.
• Sexual harassment in India is termed "Eve teasing"
and is described as: unwelcome sexual gesture or
behaviour physical contact and advances; a demand or
request for sexual favours; any other unwelcome
physical, verbal/non-verbal conduct being sexual in
nature.
• Although there is no specific law against sexual
harassment at workplace in India but many provisions
in other legislations protect against sexual harassment
at workplace,
• such as Section 354, IPC deals with "assault or
criminal force to a woman with the intent to outrage
her modesty,
• and Section 509, IPC deals with "word, gesture or act
intended to insult the modesty of a woman.
• Some common forms of
workplace harassment
• Discrimination at the workplace
on the basis of gender, religion,
castes, including complexion
and looks of a person.
• Floating rumours and
circulating vicious slanders
about somebody.