Violence and harassment at work are a global problem, with more than one in five people (22.8%, or 743 million) having experienced at least one form of violence and harassment at work during their working life (2022 ILO-Lloyd’s Register Foundation-Gallup survey).
Psychological violence and harassment are the most widespread forms, reported by both men and women (17.9%, or 583 million). One in fifteen people (6.3%, or 205 million) has experienced violence and sexual harassment at work during their working life (8.2% of women compared to 5.0% of men).
Looking at the productive sectors where this phenomenon happens, the health and care sector is by far the most affected, with 43% of the victims being healthcare and social workers and with a huge prevalence in women (80% vs/ 20%). However, there are other productive sectors where Gender Based Violence is quite frequent, like transportation and warehousing (15% of the victims are employed in these sectors) and rental and business support services (10% of the victims). In these sectors, the target of physical and verbal assaults are men in more than 80% of cases.
The Italian National Observatory on the Safety of Healthcare and Social Health Professionals, tells us that during the year 2024, over 18,000 assaults were reported, involving approximately 22,000 staff members (a single incident can affect multiple people), with a clear prevalence of verbal violence (70%) compared to physical violence (24%), committed primarily by patients, followed by family members/caregivers. Female nurses, doctors and social health workers, aged between 30 and 49, are the typical victims in the health and care sector. In 8% of cases, non-health workers (like front-office workers, security guards, and first responders) are involved.
On 25 July 2025, the Italian Inter-Associative Council for Prevention (CIIP) published the new Consensus paper “Preventing violence and harassment in work environments”, with the support and approval of the CIIP Working Group on Psychosocial Risks (here: https://olympus.uniurb.it/images/stories/appr/2025/la%20prevenzione%20delle%20molestie%20e%20violenze%20negli%20ambienti%20di%20lavoro.pdf).
The Consensus paper follows on precedent publications specifically addressing the issue of violence and harassment against health and care workers and the health sector. It provides prevention professionals with insights and useful guidance to tackle violence and harassment in all workplaces, in line with the requirements of Law 4/2021, the national ratification of ILO Convention 190, taking specific account of the characteristics of different productive sectors and their organizational complexities.
With this open and ongoing document, the working group intends to provide an initial contribution to the discussion and renew the commitment of CIIP and the Associations to:
- promote organizational skills of health and safety professionals within the corporate prevention system;
- support initiatives to raise awareness on well-being culture, enhancing interdisciplinary contributions (e.g., from psychologists, ergonomists, etc.) and promoting collaboration between different organizational roles (e.g., HR, Employers, Health and Safety Managers, etc.);
- collect and disseminate experiences, tools, and solutions for managing violence and harassment, also considering the different corporate specificities, sectors, and organizational complexities;
- promote “active listening” within the corporate and institutional work system;
- discuss analyses and operational solutions/proposals.
The Italian Brave-WOW project team welcomes this important publication that may represent an important tool to support the project’s actions, particularly in the phase of the post-pilot interventions. We will also explore avenues for collaboration with the Inter-Associative Council for Prevention and involve them as relevant stakeholders in the project.
