“I’ve been punched, kicked, scratched, grabbed by the hand, spit on, been called names and received death threats. On many occasions after being subjected to violence, I’ve had to return to my work station and continue working like nothing had happened.”
This is one – and only one – of the many experiences of violence that social, health care and education professionals have told us about. Violence and threats of violence are commonplace in nursing work – situations involving violence or threats or violence are something that some nurses encounter every day while others encounter them several times a week, several times a month or at least occasionally.
It is not a far-fetched claim that most nurses encounter violence or a threat of violence during their career. According to our survey, 69% of nurses have had such experiences.
They have been punched, kicked, spit on, pushed or had things thrown at them. According to the survey, 24% of the respondents had received a death threat. Some respondents had also been threatened with an actual edged weapon (9%) or firearm (3%). Some had also been scratched, choked or bitten.
I have also personally experienced violence both in my work in social care and in the hospital world. These experiences left a mark on my soul.
It is shocking that many nurses have to fear for their lives. And not just for their own lives, as it is not uncommon for the threats of violence to also extend to the nurse’s family or close relatives.
For this reason, we have started the Black-Eyed Day campaign today for the purpose of reducing violence in the social and health care sector.
Dear colleague, please share your own experiences of violence on social media. If you are a citizen who thinks that nurses should not be abused, please support us. You can use make-up to make it look like you have a black eye or, if you do not have the time for that, just hold your fist in front of one eye, take a photo and post it on social media with the hashtag #nyrkkisääntö.
The shortage of nurses is massive, and daily experiences of violence certainly do not boost the sector’s capacity to attract and retain employees.
Let’s not break our nurses. We need each and every one of them. Both now and in the future.
Listen to the audiobook ‘Nyrkkisääntö’ on Spotify to hear nurses talk about the violence they have experienced in nursing work. The book is edited by award-winning non-fiction author Jenny Rostain.