On behalf of the European Health Management Association (EHMA) and the European Public Health Association (EUPHA), you are kindly invited to join the upcoming free online webinar on "Stepping up the prevention of violence against healthcare workers”, which will take place on Monday 13 March 2023, from 14:30 to 15:30 CET.

Violence and harassment affect all health worker groups and work settings in the health sector. These are incidents involving work-related abuse, threats or assaults among healthcare workers including physical, sexual, verbal and psychological abuse and workplace harassment. Violence against healthcare workers strongly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and this trend seems to continue. WHO estimates that up to 62% of healthcare workers have experienced workplace violence. Verbal abuse (58%) is the most common form of non-physical violence, followed by threats (33%) and sexual harassment (12%). Between 8% and 38% of healthcare workers suffer physical violence at some point in their careers.

Violence against healthcare workers is unacceptable. It has not only a negative impact on the psychological and physical well-being of health-care staff, but also affects their job motivation. As a consequence, this violence compromises the quality of care and puts health-care provision at risk. It also leads to immense financial loss in the health sector.

Violence against healthcare workers is not adequately recognised as a political issue and public health crisis. It is largely absent from health workforce policy and the European and national pandemic recovery plans and debates over health system resilience. A trans-sectoral and multi-professional governance approach may help us better understand the different forms of violence and the factors that worsen the attacks.

This webinar is a call for unity and mobilisation, where our speakers will identify opportunities to better address the increasing violence against healthcare workers.

Join virtually on 13 March 2023 – Hurry up and register now!