Editor’s Message


With October being National Stop Domestic Violence month I want to thank all of the hardworking domestic violence


advocates that work tirelessly to help victims of domestic violence. Additionally,I want to commend organizations that are addressing perpetrator to help them unlearn their troubling behavior to end their individual violence cycle. While it is unsettling to think about the time it will take by helping one perpetrator at a time to change their behavior, if we can begin gathering a mass of advocates, interveners, etc. that multiply this movement we can perhaps envision a day when domestic violence will indeed end. Call me a dreamer, if you must, however, I hope I am not the only one.


Thanks to each of you that took time to respond to our recent survey question regarding the appropri- ateness of handling a problematic termination of an employee by telephone. We received 231 responses and the results are posted on page 15. I was truly impressed that we also received 146 comments. While the sentiment was certainly not universal the following comment was representa- tive of the survey results - “ . . . care needs to be taken to treat affected employees with dignity and respect as failure to do so may increase the potential for retaliatory violence.”


If you are not familiar with the theory of distributive justice this might be a good time for you to expand your knowledge base to learn about some of the underlying reasons why some people resort to violence when they perceive they have been treated unfairly or disrespected. Remember continuous learning is the way to continuous success.


Finally, we need your help. If you find The Work- place Violence Prevention eReport to be useful would you please forward it to a colleague in Security, Human Resources, Safety, Emergency/Crisis/ Business Continuity Manage- ment, etc. Thanks for your assistance.


Thanks again for joining us and stay safe until next time.


Bryar


Creating A Personal Safety Culture


Developing a Personal Safety Culture is a process that reduces the risk of becoming another violent crime statistic through the process of education, facilitated experiential skill development, and an administration and infrastructure that supports its goals and mandates. It involves the inclusion of programs and education that will have a direct and meaningful impact on the safety and security of those within the institution/organization. In order to be effective, Personal Safety and security must be holistic and demonstrated at both an organizational and individual level. It also requires a thorough assessment of all of the risks and resiliencies inherent in both the system, and population. Once there is an understanding of the problems and dynamics only then can any Action Plan be formulated. There is no single solution and each issue must be addressed both individually and systemically in order to have the greatest impact on reducing the growing numbers of victims each year. Creating a Culture of Personal Safety is not a laundry list of programs and training that will magically make our problems disappear, it is a fundamental change in our thinking and engaging everyone in finding the solutions and implementing them into our daily lives.


Read more DE CIS IONPOINT


This column is designed to help sharpen your judgment in providing valuable advice regarding how to handle incidents of aggression.


Is an employer liable for negligence when an employee assaults a third party minor while acting on behalf of the company?


The Situation: Plaintiff, a 16 year old girl, was attending a summer camp operated by the defendants. On the last night of camp, an activity called “the Game” was conducted. The purpose of the Game was for campers to sneak around camp staff members through a wooded area, in the dark, and then ring a bell at the top of a hill. The Game was restricted to senior high campers and the players were required to stay with a partner for safety purposes.


Continued on page 22


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27