‘I was told to return to work as soon as I regained consciousness.’ Why only a third of assaulted nurses report it to police

<https://theconversation.com/i-was-told-to-return-to-work-as-soon-as-i-regained-consciousness-why-only-a-third-of-assaulted-nurses-report-it-to-police-217288>

"Violence against nurses is pervasive. They are more likely to experience
physical violence than any other health-care professionals. Violence against
nurses occurs in the context of violence against women, with 87.5% of
Australia’s nursing workforce identifying as women.

Nurses report being punched, hit, struck, having objects or body fluids thrown
at them, being kicked, grabbed, spat on, threatened, pushed, slapped,
strangled, scratched, bitten, or sexually assaulted by patients. These actions
are assault, which is a crime. In recent years Western Australia, Queensland,
South Australia and Northern Territory have implemented tougher penalties for
those who assault nurses on the job as a deterrent.

But nurses don’t feel empowered or supported to report these crimes and
patients are not being held accountable for their actions. Harsher penalties
alone aren’t enough to protect nurses."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics