Janet Stanley

A pilot study of workplace violence towards paramedics

Background: International studies have shown that some 60% of paramedics have experienced physical violence in the workplace, and between 21–78% have experienced verbal abuse. To date, there is no Australian literature describing Australian paramedics’ experience of workplace violence. Objective: To identify the percentage of paramedics who had experienced six different forms of workplace violence. Methods: A questionnaire was developed to explore paramedics’ experience of workplace violence. Six forms of violence were included: verbal abuse, property damage or theft, intimidation, physical abuse, sexual harassment, and sexual assault. The questionnaire also included a series of demographic questions. The questionnaire was piloted using a reference group and changes made accordingly. The questionnaire was distributed to 500 rural Victorian paramedics and 430 metropolitan South Australian paramedics. Ethics approval was granted for this study. Results: The overall response rate was 28%, with 75% being male and 25% female. The median age of respondents was 40.7 years, range 21–62 years. The median number of years experience as a paramedic was 14.3 years, range 6 months to 39 years. There were 87.5% of paramedics exposed to workplace violence. Verbal abuse was the most prevalent form of workplace violence (82%), with intimidation (55%), physical abuse (38%), sexual harassment (17%), and sexual assault (4%). Conclusion: This study lays the foundation for further studies investigating paramedic experience of workplace violence. This study demonstrates that workplace violence is prevalent for paramedics and highlights the need for prevention and education within the profession.

In the Firing Line: Violence and Power in Child Protection Work

Children and Workers in the Firing Line: Messages from the Case Files and Interviews The Shifting Foundations of Child Protection: The Context of the Victorian Study The Failure to Protect: Child Deaths due to Familial Assault or Neglect The Failure to Protect: Repeated Abuse The Social Worker-Client Relationship: From Love to Violence and Beyond Protective Workers in the Firing Line: The True Extent of Violence and Isolation Hostage Theory Child Protection Workers as Hostages Beyond the Firing Line: The Broad Perspective Supervision: From Part of the Problem to Part of the Solution The Firing Line Revisited Appendix: The Victorian Study References

Investigating Links between Social Capital and Public Transport

Abstract Social capital (SC) describes the advantage individuals and communities can gain from social participation, mutual assistance and trust. The provision of travel options for those who are socially disadvantaged is a major rationale for providing public transport. While there has been recent work on how transport can address social exclusion, SC has been overlooked. This article describes the theoretical basis of SC and suggests ways in which the concept might relate to public transport planning, research and practice. Disadvantaged groups can lack SC, mobility and accessibility. Public transport can provide mobility for this group and, in doing so, provide a greater opportunity to create social networks, trust and reciprocity. Although these concepts are abstract, plausible links are identified between the concepts of enhanced positive social interaction associated with the ‘livable city’ concept and those engendered in SC theory. Public transport by definition involves travelling with others and hence provides opportunities for social interaction while travelling. While a series of possible links between SC and public transport are theorized, it is unlikely these are necessarily strong since other mobility options are available and a range of land‐use and non‐transport alternatives can address social needs. Aspects of the SC concept are already covered by the social mobility and accessibility literature, although it does offer a wider insight into the potential advantages of improving access and mobility for disadvantaged communities. The concept of SC is complex and suffers from a ‘fuzzy’ definition. There is a lack of quantitative primary research associated with measuring SC. Measuring the influence of improved mobility options on SC in disadvantaged communities would be a worthwhile research area. Despite the challenges associated with researching SC, the links between SC and travel present an opportunity to understand how public transport acts to address social disadvantage through the provision of mobility to disadvantaged communities.

Structured Risk Assessment Procedures: Instruments of Abuse

Child protection services in Australia and elsewhere face increasing internal and external demands. As a response to these pressures, in part at least, services are increasingly implementing some form of risk assessment procedures. This article examines the practice implications of the increasing use of risk assessment instruments in child protection services. It highlights the complexity of the concept of risk as the basis for a future-oriented assessment activity. The authors suggest that this change of time frame (from what has happened to what might happen) may be detrimental to children. Through a critical review of the literature, the authors question whether risk prediction is possible and discuss the limitations of risk assessment instruments which omit some risk factors and may ignore the perspective of the child. The authors challenge the validity of risk assessment instruments in statutory settings and suggest that the protection of the organization may be a major objective in their implementation. Copyright

Prevalence and predictors of occupational violence and aggression towards GPs: a cross-sectional study.

Occupational violence and aggression are common in general practice. This study examined occupational violence and aggression against GPs in terms of prevalence and predictive factors, such as sex of GP, and practice location. Over half of the GPs sampled had experienced at least one form of violence and aggression; more female than male GPs experienced sexual harassment; and there was no difference in the number of metropolitan and rural GPs who had experienced violence and aggression. Predictors emerged for verbal abuse, intimidation, physical abuse, and sexual harassment.

The Association Between Child Abuse and other Family Violence

Abstract Family violence research and practice is generally fragmented according to the type of violence and the identity of the victim and perpetrator but the few small studies that have been undertaken suggest that a number of forms of violence may occur simultaneously in the same family. An exploratory study of twenty child abusive families found that each family was involved in at least one other violent activity, as well as (with only one exception) more than one type of child abuse. The violence was directed by adults and children towards self, adults, children, and/or the community. It is suggested that failure to take all violence into account may have hindered theory development. It is also proposed that there may be serious implications for intervention in child abuse in that the child protection worker may underestimate the danger to, and other effects on, the child.

Mobility, Social Capital and Sense of Community: What Value?

Recent research by the authors has shown that increasing trip making and improving a person’s social capital and sense of community is likely to reduce risks of social exclusion. That research has enabled values to be assigned to additional trip making, in the context of reducing risk of social exclusion. This paper extends that analysis to impute values to increasing a person’s sense of community and social capital. The social capital extension requires strong assumptions for the derivation of values, given the available data, but the valuation of sense of community is likely to be an important new support for policy measures intended to achieve this purpose.

Viewing the Abusive Parent and the Abused Child as Captor and Hostage: The Application of Hostage Theory to the Effects of Child Abuse

The authors draw attention to the fact that many behavioral characteristics found in the terrorist/hostage literature appear to have a parallel in the behavior of the abuser and abused child. These include similar personality characteristics, circumstances around the violence, and beliefs held by both the terrorist and the abuser, as well as similar defensive behavior adopted by the hostage and the abused child. Insights into the reality of the abusive experience can be gained when viewed from the perspective of captor/hostage theory. If the theory can be supported by empirical evidence, different approaches to intervention in child abuse will be implied.

Failures in Child Protection: A Case Study

A case example is used to illustrate how powerful a child abuser may become; where a complex hostage-type relationship develops between family members and is then extended to include the child protection worker. One consequence of this is the increased risk of re-abuse of the children. To establish this relationship the abuser uses a number of techniques such as violence, intimidation, isolation and unpredictability. In the case presented, the three children were subjected to ongoing severe abuse, although the child protection agency had known the family for 10 years. The children often denied and hid the abuse, and the child protection workers were left largely unsupported by other professionals and often appeared to comply with the wishes of the abusing parents.

Capturing the Contribution of Community Arts to Health and Well-Being*

This paper reports on a VicHealth-funded research project which aims to enhance the knowledge of community arts, a field of increasing importance in mental health promotion. The research explores social capital and social inclusion, which underpin the VicHealth Mental Health Promotion Framework (VicHealth, 2005a). The framework seeks intermediate outcomes in attainment of the social determinants of mental health, defined as social inclusion, freedom from discrimination and violence, and access to economic and social resources. The paper reports on early findings as measured by the instrument Most Significant Change in the evaluation of the community arts project, The Torch Project. Findings include the development of the social networks of participants and of trust and reciprocity between members of the project group.