A call to protect women at work
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN Nurses at high risk of workplace abuse — and worse, says Linda Haslam-Stroud
Canadians mark tomorrow as a national day of remembrance and day of action on violence against women. This year’s remembrance ceremonies will be particularly poignant and painful for Ontario’s registered nurses. Not only are nurses three times more likely to suffer violence in the workplace than any other professional group, but they are mourning the loss of two registered nurses, both of whom died in violent attacks this year. The recent tragic stabbing death of nurse Lori Dupont by her ex- partner, which took place as she worked in the recovery room of the hospital where they both worked, has again focused the spotlight on the need for amendments to workplace health and safety. The initial response from the ministry of labour, however, is not encouraging.
Dupont’s case is particularly tragic because of its circumstances: She was a vibrant 37- year- old single mother who was being harassed by an expartner, an anesthetist who worked alongside her at Hotel- Dieu Grace Hospital in Windsor. Dupont had saved the doctor’s life last spring when she found him attempting suicide after breaking into her home. Though she feared him, she tried to protect herself by working through the courts to obtain a peace bond and by requesting her employer give her extra security and never schedule the two of them to work the same shift. Tragically, both the courts and her employer failed to keep her safe.
Lorraine Egan, an RN with Bluewater Health in Sarnia, had been harassed and threatened by her step- brother.
She, too, had turned to the courts for protection, and had obtained a restraining order against him. Sadly, he confronted her as she left her apartment building last spring and murdered her as she tried to escape. He then committed suicide. The Ontario Nurses’ Association is calling on the Ontario government to improve legislation to protect women from becoming victims of violence, both at home and in the workplace. ONA’s research has shown some shocking statistics about incidents of violence against nurses.
For instance, a recent ONA survey showed:
36 per cent of nurses have experienced physical violence in the workplace, the majority physically attacked by patients.
67 per cent of nurses say they have been the target of verbal abuse in the workplace. Patients and doctors are the most- reported source of the verbal abuse.
11 per cent of nurses report they have been the target of sexual abuse in the workplace. Patients and doctors are the most- reported source of the sexual abuse. The murders of Egan and Dupont and the daily hazards nurses face as they care for their patients, underscore the need for tougher laws. We believe the labour ministry must amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act and its policies. Currently, the ministry maintains that the threat of violence is not a workplace hazard.
Despite repeated requests from the ONA, the ministry of labour has refused to provide any response about whether it will investigate the circumstances surrounding Dupont’s murder in her workplace until the police and coroner’s investigations are complete. The ONA questions why the ministry is refusing to take timely action, and co- ordinate its efforts with the police, just as it would do, for instance, in any mining fatality where a man is killed on the job.
For too long, there has been inadequate legislation and government inaction has been the response when women are harmed and even murdered in the workplace. The ONA is fighting to protect all women from violence. Linda Haslam-Stroud, RN, is president of the Ontario Nurses’ Association.