NHS: Crimes of Violence
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to help reduce levels of (a) violent and (b) sexual crime against NHS staff.
Answered by Karin Smyth
Everyone working in the National Health Service has a fundamental right to be safe at work.
All NHS organisations should have robust policies and procedures in place to manage sexual misconduct in the workplace. In September 2023, NHS England launched the healthcare system’s first organisational Sexual Safety Charter. There are over 400 signatories to the charter across the health system who have committed to taking and enforcing a zero-tolerance approach to any unwanted, inappropriate, or harmful sexual behaviours in the workplace.
In April 2025, the Government announced that the Social Partnership Forum’s recommendations on tackling and reducing violence, as part of the 2023 Agenda for Change pay deal, have been accepted. These include significant commitments to tackle violence and aggression against NHS staff, including improving data and the reporting of incidences, and ensuring strengthened risk assessment, training, and support for victims. This will be strengthened by the introduction of a new set of staff standards, as detailed in the 10-Year Health Plan, which will cover issues including tackling violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the NHS workplace.
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