Bruised apples: violence against women in the education sector

Chen et al 1 illuminate the increasing risk of workplace violence to women in the education sector through analysis of lost time claims and emergency department visits in Ontario, Canada. The authors compare workplace violence lost-time injury workers’ compensation claims as reported to the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board from 2002 to 2015 across industries, specifically focusing on healthcare that traditionally has high rates and education that has been understudied. Unlike education, workplace violence in the healthcare sector has received much attention. For example, in the USA, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health created resources for nurses,2 home health aides3 and workplace violence training and policy considerations.4 Chen et al 1 found that while the rate of violence to women in healthcare declined, the education sector unfortunately went in the opposite direction. This is a sounding of the alarm that another sector of human service work—and one predominated by women—is experiencing risk. Perhaps the education sector can benefit from interventions similar to those healthcare. It is …