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| Each year nearly one million individuals become victims of violent crime while working or on duty. Although men were more likely to be attacked at work by a stranger, women were more likely to be attacked by someone they knew. (Bachman, Ronet, Ph.D., July 1994, "Violence and Theft in the Workplace." Crime Data Brief: National Crime Victimization Survey, pg. 1. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington, D.C.)
Overall, one out of every six violent crimes experienced by U.S. residents age 12 or older happens at work. (Ibid. pg. 1) According to the latest Bureau of Justice Statistics' annual crime survey, an estimated eight percent of rapes, seven percent of robberies, and 16 percent of all assaults occurred while victims were working or on duty. (Ibid., pg.1) In 1994, 1,071 Americans were victims of workplace homicide, (includes murders by co-workers, personal acquaintances or by persons in the commission of other crimes). Of this number, 887 victims were male and 184 were female; 64 percent of victims were white. (Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 1995, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics,Washington, D.C., pg. 364.) | Guns were the primary weapon in 86 percent of workplace homicides that took place in 1994, followed by stabbing and beating. (Ibid., pg. 364.)
The U.S. Department of Labor reports that homicide was the second leading cause of death of workers killed on the job in 1993. (Hutchinson, Ty, "Vetoing Violence in the Workplace". Solutions Magazine, April 1995 edition, pg. 41.) One-sixth of all workplace homicides of women are committed by a spouse, ex-spouse, boyfriend or ex-boyfriend. (Windau, J. & Toscano, G., "Workplace Homicides in 1992. Fatal Workplace Injuries in 1992: A Collection of Data and Analysis", May 1994, pg. 1. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, D.C.)
Boyfriends and husbands, both current and former, commit more than 13,000 acts of violence against women in the workplace every year. (Anfuso, Dawn. "Deflecting Workplace Violence". Personnel Journal (73) 10:66, 1994) Note: OVC makes no representation concerning the accuracy of data from non-Department of Justice sources. |
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