Intra-Agency Violence

Intra-Agency Violence (I.A.V.) is a unique form of workplace violence that mimics the dynamics of intimate partner violence within anti-violence organizations. It is particularly harmful to those who enter the anti-violence workforce as survivors themselves. Those who cause harm in the anti-violence workforce often have the language and skills to avoid workplace accountability.

Prevention

As founding members of Advocate2Advocate, Annette Saenz and Karlah Ramírez-Tánori have been instrumental in the development of what we call the Intra-Agency Violence Prevention framework. This framework describes the unique types of risk factors that advocates experience in their workplaces while also identifying field tested strategies for preventing and responding to them.

Examples of I.A.V.

Using Coercion & Threats

  • Making and/or carrying out threats to do something to hurt the worker or make work exceptionally difficult.

  • Examples: Creating the conditions for an employee to either quit or make mistakes in order to start the disciplinary process.

Minimizing, Denying & Blaming

  • Making light of abuse and not taking concerns about it seriously, denying the abuse happened. Shifting responsibility of the abuse to the worker. Blaming the worker for the abuse.

  • Examples: Downplaying the intention or result of harm/discrimination.

Using Intimidation

  • Making workers feel uncomfortable or afraid by using looks, actions, gestures, smashing things, destroying property.

  • Examples: Blocking exists or publicly yelling at someone.

Using Co-workers 

  • Making co-workers feel guilty about the work levels of other workers. Using co-workers to relay messages from the employer. Threatening to terminate co-workers if tasks aren’t done.

  • Examples: Having middle-managers deliver bad news to staff.

Using Emotional Abuse

  • Putting workers down. Making workers feel bad about themselves, name calling, making workers think they are crazy, playing mind games, humiliating workers, making workers feel guilty.

  • Examples: Public humiliation or using survivorship status against survivor.

Using Isolation

  • Controlling what workers do, who they work with and talk to. Controlling what is read, where workers go, limiting outside involvement.

  • Examples: Reprimanding peer support, consequences for friendships outside of the organization, or removing staff from team work.

Using Employer Privilege 

  • Treating workers like servants. Making decisions without proper input. Acting like an authoritarian being the one to decide on work tasks and defining work levels.

  • Examples: Not having an employee handbook, limiting access to coalitions or other outside agencies.

Using Economic Abuse 

  • Threatening to terminate workers and/or to reduce pay to ruin workers reputation in the sector, forcing volunteer work.

  • Examples: Denying raises, giving promotion/demotions emotionally or asking by and for staff to attend community meetings/provide translation services uncompensated.

Information to be cited as:

”Intra-Agency Violence: Definition and Introduction,” Advocate2Adovcate. 2018.

“Intra-Agency Violence: Prevention Framework,” Advocate2Advocate. 2018.

Based on the work from Dr. Debbie Duthie