Experiences of in-person violence and cyberviolence against child welfare workers in Canada

Studies conducted in countries across the world have consistently demonstrated high rates of in-person violence towards social workers, and particularly social workers engaged in challenging areas of practice such as child welfare. More recently, research has focused on the cyberworld as a new avenue for abuse against workers. Employing an online survey, this research sought to compare the experiences and effects of in-person violence and cyberviolence among child welfare workers in Canada; and to better understand the influences of organizational factors on levels of distress experienced by workers. Respondents reported high levels of exposure to in-person violence, as well as high levels of abuse and threats through digital means. Among various forms of in-person violence, threats were associated with the highest level of traumatic stress symptoms. Other factors that were associated with traumatic stress were perceptions of organizational support and experiences of burnout, particularly emotional exhaustion, which was the best predictor of traumatic stress scores related to both in-person and cyberviolence. Given that cyberviolence is a new area of study, further research is necessary to more fully understand the ability of the workplace environment to mitigate harmful aspects of this recent form of workplace violence.