Shining a Light on Workplace Violence

November 2014

Continuing to highlight the problem of workplace violence against health care professionals, UNAC/UHCP began an online candlelight vigil at the convention. We’ve all seen a standard candlelight vigil, held in the dark with a small group of supporters holding candles. At the convention, hundreds of delegates and convention guests stood for photos holding a small flickering candle. Most also held signs where they wrote personal messages about why the issue matters to them. A number of California elected officials joined the online vigil to stand with us. Dozens of these photos have been posted to our Facebook page and will continue to be posted in the weeks to come.

Health care and social services workers are more prone to attack on the job than any other profession outside law enforcement, delegates learned in a workshop on Sunday that kicked off the vigil. Nearly half a million nurses are victims each year. UNAC/UHCP continues to lead the fight for new law and regulations to combat this danger. Many brave members have already stepped up to fill out our online survey or to tell their stories to the media, Cal/OSHA and legislators. Their faces and stories help illustrate the problem so we can gain support for solutions.

Join the effort to protect your fellow nurses and health care professionals: add your own photo with a candle to our Facebook page. Then help us gather the data we need by filling our online survey at unacuhcp.org/wpvsurvey.