Violence in South Africa is not only prevalent in society and the home environment, but is also present in the workplace. Although substantial research has been conducted into school violence and learner-focused, school-based violence, the study set out to determine the nature and extent of workplace violence that educators face; identify the effects and consequences of workplace violence on victims; profile educators as victims of workplace violence with specific reference to gender, age and occupational level; and determine the presence and role of policies and educator participation in managing and preventing educator-targeted violence. The comparative investigation further established difference in such experiences between private and public secondary schools. In pursuit of the objectives of the study, 274 self-administered questionnaires were delivered to three public and three private secondary schools in Gauteng after both probability and non-probability sampling methods were employed. A total of 122 completed questionnaires were returned. Using descriptive and inferential data analysis, by means of the Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal-Wallis H test, relationships, differences and similarities were determined. Both univariate and bivariate data are displayed in multiple formats. Evident from the results and corroborating existing literature, educators in the study reported having experienced both physical and non-physical (verbal and social) violence, although the survey findings indicate the latter to be dominant. Notably, educators are victimised by various perpetrators and the opportunity to become victimised is greatest during classes, especially in public schools. Educator-targeted violence appears to be the result of multiple interrelated contextual factors that result in a fear for personal safety and far-reaching personal and professional consequences for educators. The profile of educators as victims verified and further exposed various risk factors in terms of demographics and background. Female educators, unmarried educators, public school educators, educators working for long periods of time and educators with lower educational achievements presented greater risk of victimisation. Similarly, female educators and public school educators experienced deficits in power and control. In terms of the public and private divide, significant associations indicated that educators in public schools were more likely to experience physical violence, verbal violence, bullying and vandalism by learners thus justifying their increased likelihood of feeling threatened in the workplace, considering their school at high risk of violence, and viewing workplace violence as a serious problem. Furthermore, with a higher chance of victimisation by not being heard, favouritism and overcrowding, public school respondents were more likely to report lower levels of involvement in decision-making regarding school issues, which consequently affected their sense of power and control in the workplace and increased their risk of victimisation. The majority of respondents indicated having neither been provided with material(s) related to workplace violence nor having received training with regards to the phenomenon (in particular female respondents) therefore the researcher recommends, amongst others, an increase in training and the dissemination of information regarding workplace violence against educators, both in the school setting and among the community. / Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Social Work and Criminology / MSW / Unrestricted

This scoping review aimed to determine, what empirical research currently exists about disablist hate crimes, targeted violence and hostility and what gaps in research can be identified. Digital databases were examined to identify studies published in English from 2000 onwards. This field is new and emerging with most research from 2010 onwards. In total 48 studies were identified in the UK, Australia, Ireland, Norway, USA, Iceland, Spain and Sweden. The studies provide information on: the prevalence and experiences of disablist hate crime, sex-related offences, online hate speech, space and place, ‘mate crime’ and the reporting and responding to disablist hate crime. Despite disablist hate crimes being recognised by legislation, it has been found that it is still widely unprioritised compared to other protected characteristics. Further investigation into disablist hate crime is required to focus on disability-specific aspects of experiences

Förekomsten av psykisk ohälsa bland ensamagerande våldsverkare i Sverige studerades genom en tematisk analys på textdokument. Trettiofem av 70 ensamagerande våldsverkare valdes ut genom ett systematiskt slumpmässigt urval. Textdokumenten innehåller sekretessbelagd information ifrån Polismyndighetens system. Av de undersökta ensamagerande våldsverkarna hade 43 % en psykiatrisk diagnos och tecken på psykisk ohälsa fanns hos 34 %. Resultatet går i linje med internationell forskning som visar att ungefär 40 % av ensamagerande våldsverkare innehar en psykiatrisk diagnos. Sammanfattningsvis i aktuell studie uppvisade 77 % av de ensamagerande våldsverkarna tecken på psykisk ohälsa vilket kan indikera att antalet med psykiatriska diagnoser i studien kan ha underskattats. Således visade studien att psykisk ohälsa är en viktig riskfaktor för våld och Polismyndigheten behöver samverka med andra samhällsaktörer för att kunna förebygga, förhindra och upptäcka brottslighet från ensamagerande våldsverkare. / The frequency of mental illness among lone actors in Sweden were studied through a thematic analysis on textual documents. Thirty-five of 70 lone actors were chosen with a systematic randomized method. The textual documents contain closed source data from The Swedish Police Authority. Of the studied lone actors 43 % had a mental disorder and signs of mental illness were observed in 34 %. The findings are consistent with previous international research that shows that approximately 40 % of lone actors have a mental disorder. In summary current study outlines that 77 % of lone actors in Sweden show signs of mental illness which can indicate that the quantity of mental disorders could have been underestimated. Finally mental illness appears to be an important risk factor for violence and The Swedish Police Authority needs to cooperate with other social actors to be able to prevent and discover violent crimes from future lone actors.

This bachelor thesis is a qualitative, small-n, empirically driven comparative study that examines the relationship between rebel group ideology and targeted violence against the LGBTIQ+ community. Two rebel groups in the Syrian Arab Republic, with different ideological beliefs, are examined and compared in relation to their level of violence against LGBTIQ+ individuals. Findings in this study suggest that religious groups are keener to use extreme violence against sexual minorities, and to target them explicitly, but further studies are needed to fully understand this targeting of sexual minorities in armed conflicts.

Inledning Skolattacker är ett ovanligt och komplext fenomen som ökar i det svenska samhället. Skolattacker kan ha omfattande implikationer för lokalsamhället, men även för uppfattningen om skolan som en trygg och säker plats. Flera instanser i samhället behöver vara förberedda och samverka för att förebygga och minimera risken för att en skolattack ska ske, och för att minimera skadebilden vid en skolattack. Kommuner har en särställning i det samordnande och förebyggande arbetet mot allvarliga olyckor och skador, samt för skola och utbildning i kommunal regi. Styrningen i Sverige är komplex, och omfattar flera olika lagar, förordningar, direktiv, riktlinjer och råd, varför organiseringen för att förebygga skolattacker kan variera mellan olika kommuner mot bakgrund av det kommunala självstyret. Syfte Syftet med studien är att undersöka skillnader och likheter i de policys, handlings- och åtgärdsplaner som finns för att förebygga och hantera skolattacker i ett urval av kommuner. Metod Datainsamling har skett genom att begära ut offentliga handlingar som rör pågående dödligt våld i skolor/skolattacker från ett urval av kommuner. Studien genomförs genom policyanalys genom kvalitativ innehållsanalys av kommuners handlings- och åtgärdsplaner avseende pågående dödligt våld i skolor/skolattacker. Även den information som framkommit i samband med datainsamlingen har tillförts studien. Resultat I studien framkom det att begäran om utlämnande av handling tolkades mycket olika mellan kommunerna. Det fanns organisatoriska skillnader mellan flera av kommunerna om vem som besvarade frågeställningen, samt vilken roll som ansvarade för upprättandet och uppdaterandet av handlings- och åtgärdsplaner. Både utformning och innehåll i handlings- och åtgärdsplanerna varierade mellan kommunerna. Trots detta fanns det indikationer på att det föreligger ett intresse att arbeta förebyggande mot skolattacker, med särskild tonvikt på en pågående skolattack och det efterföljande arbetet. Samtliga kommuner har åtminstone delvis anpassning till Skolverkets riktlinjer, medan enskilda kommuner även inkorporerade information kopplad till tidigare (huvudsakligen amerikansk) forskning.  Slutsatser Det finns stora skillnader i såväl organisation, ansvarsfördelning och upprättande av handlingsplaner, men samtliga kommuner har inkorporerat viss styrning. Samtliga kommuner hade någon typ av arbete avseende våld i skolan, men inte alla hade enskilda dokument eller delar av dokument tillägnat specifikt fenomenet skolattacker. / Introduction School attacks are a rare and complex phenomena, the occurrence of which is increasing in Sweden. School attacks may have extensive implications for the local community, but also for the perception of school as a safe and secure place. Cooperation between many organisations is necessary to prevent and prepare for a school attack, as well as minimise the effects during and after one occurs. Municipalities have a special role in the coordination and preventative work regarding serious accidents and injuries, along with the responisbility for school and education in the municipality. The governance of Sweden is complex, and encompasses many laws, regulations, directives, guidelines and advice. Due to the municipal self-governance, the organisation surrounding the prevention of school attacks may vary between differing municipalities. Purpose The purpose of the study is to examine the similarities and differences in the policies and action plans that exist to prevent and handle school attacks in a sample of municipalities.  Method Data has been collected through requesting public documents regarding ongoing deadly violence in schools (school attacks) from a sample of municipalities. Policy analysis was performed through use of qualitative content analysis of said documents. The information revealed during the data gathering has also been added to the study.  Result This study shows that the request of documentation was treated very differently by the municipalities. There were organisational differences between the municipalities regarding who answered the request, as well as the title and role of the person responsible for the creation and upkeep of the action plans. Both the design and the contents of the action plans varied between the municipalities. Despite this, there were indications of an interest to work preventative against school attacks, with special attention on the ongoing act and the events following an attack. All municipalities have at least partially conformed to the guidelines of Skolverket, though some municipalities also used previous research, most of which was American.  Conclusions All municipalities had some type of governance and action plan regarding violence in schools, though not all had specified school attacks as a phenomena. At the same time, there were large differences in how the action plans were created, who was responsible for the creation and maintenance thereof, as well as the organisations behind them.