Organizations are recognizing that social workers often put themselves in harm's way while on the job and must be trained to protect themselves and learn how to create safer work environments. What do you consider a dangerous profession? Law enforcement? Firefighting? Serving in the military? What about social work? Social workers often put themselves in harm's way to help clients—making home visits alone in unfamiliar neighborhoods, serving people with serious mental illnesses, and finding themselves involved in potentially violent family dynamics. Today, workplace safety is of increasing concern to professionals in all sectors of society, and social work is no exception. In response, advocates for social worker safety are urging their colleagues to become more aware of the risks of their profession and learn what they can do to create safer working environments. "In every single work setting, in every neighborhood and socioeconomic group, violence can occur," says Eva Skolnik-Acker, LICSW, consultant to a workplace safety training program operated by the Massachusetts chapter of NASW. "Every social worker and human service worker can be a victim of aggression at some time during their career
