Chicago, IL (PRWEB) August 18, 2015
A new national survey of more than 1,000 working women revealed women’s biggest concerns about their personal safety while on the job, including when they feel most at risk of assault or attack and habits regarding carrying personal safety tools, like pepper spray in the workplace. SABRE, the world’s leading personal safety brand, today released the results** finding that more than half (55%) of women working full- and part-time are concerned about their personal safety during work and fear the threat of assault. A staggering eighty-five percent (85%) are concerned about their personal safety in general.
Workplace safety has historically been focused on biohazards, safe working conditions or even coworker harassment, but little research has been done to gauge the risk of assault or attack that women face during work. This survey shows that working women feel more at risk of assault or attacks at their workplace than they do during commute times, and feel these risks primarily from clients, patients or customers they encounter at their place of work.
Among the findings:
- Forty-three percent (43%) of women have been threatened or assaulted at work, or know a female co-worker that has been.
- More than one-third of women feel most at risk of assault from the clients and customers they encounter.
- Over forty percent (44%) of women have avoided staying late at work due to not feeling safe alone in the workplace.
- Nearly three-fourths of working women surveyed never carry personal safety tools such as pepper spray to protect themselves at work.
- Top at-risk professions include educators, those in medical fields and those working in the nightlife and service industry.
The survey also revealed trends among ethnicities and age groups that showed different safety concerns and higher risk of threats and assault among these groups.
It found:
- Forty-five percent (45%) of African-American and Latina women surveyed feel at risk some or all of the time at work versus less than thirty-five percent (35%) for Caucasians.
- One-third of African-American women felt their employers did not have steps in place to protect their personal safety, versus one-fourth of Asian women and less than twenty percent (18%) of Caucasian women.
- More than sixty-five percent (65%) of Asian/Pacific Islander women surveyed have been or had a female coworker assaulted or threatened at work, versus half of African-American women and forty-one percent (41%) of Latinas and Caucasian women.
- More than half of women (53%) ages 25-34 have been threatened or assaulted at work or know a female co-worker that has, compared to 44% of 18-24 year olds and 39% of 35-54 year olds.
The survey shows an overwhelming majority of women working are concerned about their personal safety at their jobs. However half of these women that don’t carry a personal safety tool said often times they don’t know what to buy or [say it] hadn’t occurred to them to purchase a personal safety tool to protect themselves.
“Women will never be at fault for the actions of someone else. But the reality is we live in a world where threats exist, so we think it’s wise for people to take charge and be smart about their safety,” said Marisa McKay, SABRE marketing and Personal Safety Academy manager. “We have long been the leader in the area of personal safety and our goal is to provide women with the tools and training necessary to be ready and prepared to protect themselves in the event of the unexpected.”
Of those surveyed, pepper spray is the no. 1 personal safety tool carried by nearly one-fourth (24%) of working women. But new pepper gel technology may be a strong option for those 54% who don’t currently carry any safety tools.
“SABRE formulated our Pepper Gel with Flip Top to be used in any environment, as it offers a directed spray with no airborne particles, only activating on the areas the gel actually touches,” said McKay. “This is the perfect offering for those working in an indoor environment where traditional pepper spray might be discouraged due to the potential it gets in the air and affects others.”
As the founder of the Personal Safety Academy, SABRE is raising awareness and has created resources for women to learn more about how they can protect themselves on the job and during commute times. For more information, visit http://www.SabreRed.com/Personal-Safety-Work for more data trends, safety tips, online testimonials and product offerings.
Or follow SABRE at https://www.facebook.com/sabreredpepperspray, https://twitter.com/sabrered and http://instagram.com/SabreSafety.
About SABRE:
SABRE, the #1 pepper spray trusted by police and consumers worldwide, is family owned and operated with four decades of experience and is the leading brand in personal and home safety. The company’s law enforcement grade pepper sprays provide consumers with the same superior quality chosen exclusively by the New York Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and law enforcement agencies worldwide. SABRE has trained 3,500 officers around the globe on the use of force and how to use pepper spray. SABRE also has a line of consumer personal alarms and home security systems, and is dedicated to educating its customers. SABRE’s Personal Safety Academy is available through certified instructors around the world to help teach personal safety skills to SABRE users. Learn more at http://www.sabrered.com, on Facebook at ‘SABRE-Security Equipment Corporation’, on Twitter @SabreRed or on Instagram @SabreSafety.
**The nationwide survey conducted by Research Now from June 29 to July 8, 2015 on behalf of SABRE. The survey was conducted online among 1,000 working women ages 18 and over and had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.