Help Us Celebrate Women by Looking at Ways
to Keep Them Safe in the Workplace.

 

Women are among the most vulnerable in today’s workplace. They make up for 85% of total victims of domestic violence occurring in the workplace. (Source: Branka Vuleta, writing for Legaljobs, February 02, 2021.)

Types of workplace crimes against women include rape, sexual assault, stalking, workplace- or home-related relationship violence, gun violence, verbal and physical assaults, bullying, and threats. These crimes are perpetrated by co-workers, supervisors, customers, clients, patients, intimate partners, and others. People causing these crimes are often convicted criminals, or abusers of drugs or alcohol.

Between 74% and 75% of women with vocational training or those who occupy senior leadership positions have experienced sexual harassment at some time in their lives. (Source:  European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) study.) Common types of sexual harassment at work can be 1) demands for a woman to perform a sexual service or else jeopardize her work situation, 2) a work environment that is intimidating and/or humiliating to the victim, and 3) “maternity harassment” occurring when a woman is made to feel uncomfortable about a pregnancy, new baby, or health problem.

Which Industries Have the Highest Rate
of Workplace Violence?

Employees in healthcare, service-providing, and education can be several times more prone to be victims than others. (Source: Branka Vuleta, writing for Legaljobs, February 02, 2021.)

• With regard to workplace violence in general, most assaults happen in the healthcare industry. Reported injuries caused by violence in healthcare organizations are almost equal to the number of injuries in all the other industries combined. 47% of emergency physicians, including female physicians and nurses, report they have been assaulted at work.
• 98% of workplace sexual harassment happens in service-providing industries, like food, accommodation, and retail. 80% of victims of sexual violence in the workplace are female.
• Believe it or not, 80% of teachers report they’ve been victims of violence in the last 12 months.

Sexual Crimes Are Under-Reported.

The FRA report also stated that among women who have experienced sexual violence since age 15, 32% mentioned that the perpetrator was either a co-worker, a supervisor, or a client—but only 4% reported the situation to their employer or superior.

What Can We Do to Prevent Violence
against Women in the Workplace?

First, employers must acknowledge that workplace violence is a common occurrence in the modern-day workplace. They must establish policies to prevent it and avoid risky situations where it might occur.

Second, a thorough, professional employee background check should be done before hiring any employee. This check should include the following:

• Misdemeanor and felony criminal records searches at the county, state and national levels (international also, if necessary)

• Sex-offender status searches

• Social Security number traces and validations

• Employment and education verifications

• Professional license verifications

• Checks on references, credit reports, civil records, driver’s license and motor vehicle records

• Military records verifications

• Workers’ compensation history searches

• Healthcare sanction checks

• Address history checks

Additional protection can be afforded by including social media background checks of prospective employees, as well as continuous screening of employees who have already been working at the company.

Online behavior could be an indicator of risks to your brand, culture, and employee safety.

Continuous screening can provide immediate alerts of recent employee conduct, such as arrests, convictions, changes in motor vehicle records, accidents or misconduct, medical sanctions, license status, and much more that may have occurred after the initial pre-hire background check.

Why Choose The Hire Authority for Employee
Background Screening?

At The Hire Authority we are experienced, professional, and thorough in our screening, which guarantees that you will receive information that is current and relevant. We also are experts in compliance with state, federal, and county laws (including workers’ rights) that you do not want to violate and be subject to hefty fines or worse. We care about your security, and we will work with you to keep you safe from harm or unnecessary problems. Be safe, not sorry.

We’d be happy to talk to you about screening your employees. Call us at (508) 230-5901 or visit our website www.hireauth.com with any questions you may have.

 

The foregoing should not be construed as legal advice. Employers should always consult their own legal counsel for advice on labor and employment matters.