Violence in Offices - White Ring sees growing aggressions in authorities
Insults and Attacks: The tone towards employees and employees in public administrations has worsened. This is the result of a survey by the victim support organization Weißen Ring in numerous German city administrations.
Most communes have already experienced digital violence at least once. Many reported physical attacks on employees within the past twelve months, according to the Weiße Ring. Representative, however, the survey is not. Of the 82 administrations contacted, 44 responded. For evaluation, 38 answers were considered, as the others were incomplete.
Insulting or threatening messages
In the past twelve months, there were physical attacks on employees in 29 administrations. Thirty-five cities recorded cases of digital violence. These included primarily insulting or threatening messages via email, messenger services, and social media. In addition, there were negative or insulting reviews and the dissemination of private information without consent.
"Communes are often unprepared for the increasing coarsening," the Weiße Ring notes. Only half of the administrations reported having internal guidelines or procedures for dealing with digital violence against employees (19 cities).
In response to the rising incidences of digital violence, some city administrations in Rhineland-Palatinate, like Mainz, have turned to platforms like TikTok to create awareness campaigns about workplace respect and safety. Unfortunately, these efforts haven't completely mitigated the issue, as some individuals continue to resort to insulting or threatening messages on platforms like TikTok, even in the face of criminal consequences. Regrettably, the lack of comprehensive guidelines and procedures to address digital violence in some communes contributes to the persistent problem of criminality in public administrations.
