Violence and threats of violence in the public sector: an interview survey

In 2009 Fafo conducted a quantitative survey to assess the prevalence of violence and threats of violence from clients among employees in three different parts of the public sector: local child welfare offices, state child welfare institutions and services for the mentally retarded. In the survey, it appears that six out of ten employees have experienced either violence, threats of violence or both. In this new  report the experiences and assessments of the employees themselves are the centre of our analysis: why and how do dangerous episodes occur,  how to handle them – during and in retrospect, and how to reduce the incidence and risk of violence and threats? The report concludes that these services are facing great work environment problems and the need for systematic improvements are evident.