According to the Office of National Statistics, there are over 120,000 Housing Officers and Social Workers in the UK, in addition to almost 60,000 Youth and Community staff.
Housing employees are often required to attend the homes of residents by themselves without immediate support from colleagues or supervisors.
While completing home visits alone isn't inherently dangerous, it does make staff more vulnerable to injuries and violent attacks. In recent years, a decrease in staffing levels has led to a rise in lone working and many service providers have been forced to send lone workers on visits which may previously have been deemed as unsafe.
Shockingly, data shows that 47% of housing employees have experienced violence or aggression at work. Violence includes physical assault, verbal assault, harassment and simple, yet menacing threats. Some assaults may be minor, but others can be fatal.
Work-related violence against those working within the community is an often unspoken subject. In order to protect workers, they are given mandatory training for personal safety to ensure that those who work alone in the field are equipped to deal with an incident and able to call for immediate help should the situation escalate.
