11.2 - More careful on the roads, at work, at home and in town
In our everyday lives at home, at work, on the roads, we are all exposed to countless risks which may seriously jeopardize our health.
Road accidents are the main cause of death among young people, while accidents at work draw the media's attention to the issue of workplace safety. Yet it is not only on the roads and at work that we are exposed to risks, even the peaceful domestic environment may present dangers. Furthermore, as well as the direct damage caused to victims, crime in our cities provokes fear and insecurity and thus compromises our quality of life. Knowing what situations present risks permits suitable preventive measures to be put in place and wrong or dangerous behaviour to be adjusted in order to maintain and improve wellbeing in our society.
As regards health risks, road accidents remain a significant problem despite the improvements seen in the last few years as a result of awareness-raising, prevention and increased levels of safety.
In 2006 there were 19,261 accidents in Veneto involving over 36,000 vehicles and almost 1,300 pedestrians. The number of road accidents per 10,000 inhabitants is exactly the same as the national average (40.3), with Padova and Treviso recording the highest numbers, 45.7 and 43.2 per 10,000 inhabitants respectively. (Figure 11.2.1) In Veneto the number of deaths caused by road accidents per 100,000 inhabitants is 11.6, which is higher compared to the rest of Italy (9.6), but it is important to bear in mind the considerable amount of road traffic in the region, a major corridor for traffic between the North-West and the North-East. It is young people who pay the highest price: while in Europe road accidents are the main cause of death for young people from the ages of 5 to 29, in Veneto there were 127 deaths in the 18-29 age group from road accidents. If we add to this the 142 deaths for the 30-44 age group, we can account for nearly 55% of the total number of drivers and passengers who died during the year. This is cause for even greater concern if we consider that the figures cited are an underestimation of the real death rate. The figures reported for deaths from road accidents include those who died on the spot or within 30 days of the accident. They do not take into account those who were seriously injured and died after more than 30 days. (Figure 11.2.2) Causes
The Istat survey revealed the accidents whose causes were due to traffic offences and vehicle defects. In 2006 more than 21,400 causes of accidents with attribution of responsibility were ascribed to the 37,778 subjects - motorists and pedestrians - involved in accidents resulting in injury or death. Over 95% of these can be put down to situations or behaviour which impeded traffic flow, such as driving offences and wrong manoeuvres. 4.2% were due to driving under the influence, while only a small remaining share was due to vehicle defects or breakdown. (Figure 11.2.3)More specifically, not respecting traffic lights is the most frequent traffic offence accounting for 24.8% of total offences, followed by distracted driving and hesitation which account for 20.1%. Not keeping an appropriate distance between vehicles comes third with 11.9% and, with more or less the same amount, is excessive speed and not respecting limits (11.8%). In ninth position, with 3.2% and 695 identified cases, is driving under the influence of alcohol or other substances, which is thus confirmed as a considerable problem. (Figure 11.2.4) The most dangerous days
Accidents occur uniformly in the course of a week: from a minimum of 13.7% on Mondays to a maximum of 15.6% on Saturdays. Distribution of fatal accidents is different however, as they are more frequent at weekends, which are when 52% of fatal accidents occur. (Figure 11.2.5)Not only are accidents more frequent at weekends, but they also have more dramatic results. Though there are no outstanding peaks in the number of injuries, over half of fatalities (52.1%) occur between Friday and Sunday, with Sunday being particularly serious (21%). (Figure 11.2.6) In weekend accidents the most common offence is driving under the influence. Drink-driving is the sixth most common offence causing accidents with 440 cases, 4.8% of the total. (Figure 11.2.7) Safety
The use of safety measures provided for in the highway code reduces the risk of accidents and serious injuries, as is emphasised in prevention campaigns which aim to encourage motorists to adopt safe behaviour, such as the use of seatbelts and child seats.According to a recent study (Note 1) on Veneto motorists' use of seat belts and child seats, the introduction of the point system for driving licences (Note 2), as a further deterrent for traffic offences has increased the percentage of motorists who respect safety regulations. In 2003 slightly over half of all drivers (54.5%) wore safety belts and over 70% did not use child car restraints. In 2004 however the number of people using seat belts rose to 82.8% and the percentage of those who did not use child seats went down to 56.9%, and subsequently remained at this level. In 2007 the share of drivers (80.7%) and front seat passengers (76%) using safety belts remained quite high, the share of rear passengers wearing seat belts remained considerably lower (23.7%), thus revealing a general breaking of the highway code. (Table 11.2.1) The use of child protection measures should be more widespread: in 2007 child seats were used in 55.1% of cases, going up to 62% for children in front seats, but down to 50% for children in the rear of the car. (Figure 11.2.8)
(Note 3) So-called 'white deaths' (fatal accidents) and serious accidents at work which are reported by the media periodically raise the issue of safety at work. It is important to carefully analyse this problem in order to assess risks and take appropriate preventive action and protective measures.
The main source of information is the INAIL archives (Note 4). The first available figure is the number of accidents reported to the Insurance Institution through medical certificates issued mainly by Accident and Emergency departments and family doctors. However it takes some time for reported accidents to be recognised as accidents at work due to the complex health and administrative investigation that takes place, which varies according to the seriousness of the accident. (Figure 11.2.9) The phenomenon of workplace accidents in Veneto is declining. Between 2000 and 2005 the number of accidents reported to Inail fell by 14.2% and the number of recognised accidents by 13%. The number of reported accidents dropped from 141,066 in 2000 to 120,996 in 2005 (120,894 is the provisional figure for 2006), while recognised cases, which in 2005 accounted for 63% of reported accidents dropped from 87,778 in 2000 to 76,397 in 2005 (75,085 is the provisional figure for recognised accidents in 2006). After a considerable increase between 2000 and 2001, the number of road traffic accidents when commuting to work or while travelling during work for instance to different offices or to eat, remained relatively stable at around an average of about 10,600 cases a year. There has been a significant drop (18.4% ) in the number of workplace accidents in 6 years, going from 75,468 in 2000 to 61,604 in 2005. In line with what happens almost every year, over half (55%) of accidents reported in 2005 were labelled as temporary injuries by Inail as they led to over 3 days absence from work and did not cause permanent effects leading to a level of disability of over 5%. 21.7% of cases however were closed because they led to less than four days' absence and 14.6% because they did not correspond to the legal definition (negative). As for the rest, 5.4% did not receive compensation from Inail though they were recognisable as true workplace accidents (regular without compensation), 2.7% of injuries were permanent with permanent effects leading to a level of disability of over 5%, and 0.1% were fatal. (Figure 11.2.10) Some interesting observations emerge if we compare workplace accidents recognised by the Insurance Institute (excluding commuting accidents and those which involve professional sports people, domestic workers and students) in different years. The number of fatal accidents in 2001-2002 was around 83; in 2003 it was 99, and subsequently there was a significant reduction, with 63 cases in 2005. Accidents with permanent injuries are increasing: 2,053 cases were recorded in 2000 and this figure went up to 2,659 in 2005 (+29.5%), while temporary injuries declined by 20.3% in the same period of time. (Figure 11.2.11) The decline in the number of recognised injuries, in particular those with temporary effects, mainly regards non-serious accidents: Between 2003 and 2005 the number of cases with less than 9 days' absence fell by 14% and those with between 9 and 14 days fell by 11.8%. There is less of a decrease, at roughly 5%, in serious accidents (with over 28 days' absence). (Figure 11.2.12) and (Figure 11.2.13) All provinces have registered a decrease in the absolute number of accidents, for example in the provinces of Treviso and Padova the number of reported and recognised accidents at work in 2005 is more than 20% lower than 6 years previously. We will now look at the incidence rate of accidents to the number of employees, using the Posizione Assicurativa Territoriale (PAT), the insurance contract that a company signs with Inail to insure its workers, as reference. The incidence rate calculated per 1,000 employees from 2000-2005, is the ratio between the number of recognised accidents at work (Note 5), excluding those involving domestic workers, students and professional sports people, which took place between 2000 and 2005 and which involved workers whose reference PAT is in Veneto, and the number of employees (Note 6) estimated for the PATs based in the region. This allows the sectors most at risk, where accidents at work are more common, to be identified. (Figure 11.2.14) The highest risk sectors are the metal industry, with 99 injuries per 1,000 employees, followed by agriculture and fishing with a rate of 80 injuries per 1,000 employees and industries transforming non-metallic mineral (73 injuries per 1,000 employees). The iron industry, though it is in second place for the absolute number of accidents, has an incidence rate of 60 per 1,000, this is comparable to the construction, rubber and wood industries. As well as the frequency of accidents, the severity must also be considered when assessing risk in the different sectors. Fatal accidents and those leading to over 40 days' absence or permanent effects equalling a level of disability of or above 1% are considered serious. Most at risk are first of all agriculture, where 28 of every 100 injuries are serious, followed by transport (26%), mining (23%) and construction (22%). (Figure 11.2.15) Following the increasing integration of foreign workers into the labour market particularly in production sectors in Veneto, the percentage of accidents involving foreign workers has increased significantly in the last few years, going from 11% in 2000 to 17% from 2003 to subsequent years. (Figure 11.2.16) The leather-tanning industry has the highest number of accidents involving foreign workers, followed by the metal, chemical and transformation of non-metallic minerals industries, sectors in which a large number of foreign workers find employment. It is interesting to look more closely at the phenomenon in the construction sector, considering the incidence rate for foreign workers born in non EU countries (Note 7) and comparing it with the total. In 2000 the incidence rate for foreign workers born outside the EU was 111.1 every 1,000 employees compared to a total incidence rate of 70.7. However this initial difference is decreasing with time, and in the last five years the rate for workers born outside the EU has dropped by 27.8 injuries per 1,000 employees, while the rate for all construction workers has dropped by only 15.4 points. (Figure 11.2.17) Occupational diseases
A final aspect of safety at work is the risk associated with occupational diseases (Note 8). Though traditional diseases have nearly disappeared, or at least seen a clear reduction, new occupational diseases are on the increase. While in 1990 hearing (Note 9), musculoskeletal and skin disorders accounted for 86%, 1% and 7% respectively of all diseases reported, in 2006 they accounted for 45%, 28% and 3% respectively.Despite this, it is not easy to analyse occupational diseases, both due to the long time it takes to define them, and also due to a considerable underestimation of the phenomenon. What is more, the difficulty in obtaining adequate data (Note 10) is also due to the nature of the phenomenon itself: occupational disease is caused by excessive exposure to a multiplicity of risk factors which are often difficult to identify and to associate with work. (Figure 11.2.18) Reports of occupational diseases to Spisal increased considerably from 1990 to 1993 due to the careful health monitoring carried out by specialised doctors. This led to the co-ordination and checking of protocols on periodic health checks by doctors. Extending health monitoring to new companies has led to the emergence of new occupational diseases. After 1993 the number of occupational diseases reported stabilized at around 2,000 new cases a year, with two peaks in the years 1997-1998 and 2001-2002. The first may have been a consequence of the application of new European legislation which extends health monitoring to new risks, while the second peak is probably due to the combined increase of three categories of disorders: musculo-skeletal, non-tumour and tumour cases of asbestosis.
Despite its reassuring familiarity, at times the home may not be a safe place to be. Domestic accidents are proof of this and are a worrying phenomenon for the public health system too.
In Italy, as in most industrialized countries, many research and prevention programmes have been set up to understand the problem better, to quantify it and to set up measures to protect individuals from the many risks present in the home. The growing interest in this phenomenon is due to the severity of the consequences that apparently banal episodes can generate. Many domestic accidents are fatal or cause invalidity and those most at risk are the people who spend most time at home: women, children and the elderly. Though the importance of the phenomenon has been recognised, in Italy there are no complete data (Note 11) and the main information source is the sample Multipurpose survey carried out by ISTAT, based on reports given by those interviewed, which summarises the phenomenon but does not provide information as to the severity of the accidents or the health care required. In Veneto about 62,000 (Note 12) individuals had accidents in the home or on other parts of their property in 2006. In our region, this phenomenon, with 13.2 individuals out of every 1,000 having had a domestic accident, is slightly lower than the national average (13.7 per 1,000 people) and it has decreased from 2000. (Figure 11.2.19) and (Figure 11.2.20)
Crime is one of the factors which can threaten daily well being, as a matter of fact it ranks second among the fears of the Italian people, right after the fear of unemployment. In addition to the immediate damages caused, crime creates insecurity and distrust of one's neighbours and greatly influences daily habits and lifestyles.
Because of the large number of unreported crimes, the data (Note 13) related to crime must be read and interpreted with great caution. Furthermore, the trends in criminal phenomena can only be measured in the medium to long term. In 2005, 196,764 felonies, crimes for which the principal punishment is incarceration or a fine and a series of accessory punishments, were reported by the police to the judicial authorities in Veneto. This is 2.2% more than the previous year. Venezia, Verona and Padova were the provinces with the greatest numbers of felonies in Veneto; nearly 5,000 felonies were reported per 100,000 inhabitants. This is compared to an average of 4,169 in Veneto and 4,401 in Italy overall. Rovigo had the greatest annual increase in reported felonies: 18.1% more than in 2004. (Figure 11.2.21) The most common crime was theft with 120,000 cases reported in 2005. Some way behind come vandalism (18,448), crimes of threats and defamation (10,873), swindling and fraud (8,580) and reports of assault and battery (5,938). (Figure 11.2.22) Veneto is, however, less dangerous than Italy on average, both as far as violent crime and less serious and more common crime are concerned. In Veneto in 2006, 14.3 violent crimes were recorded per 10,000 inhabitants and 25.7 less serious thefts and robberies per 1,000 inhabitants. This is compared to the 20.1 and 26.9 respectively reported in Italy. (Figure 11.2.23) Investigating the phenomenon of crime also means studying and measuring the subjective and social perception of risk; in other words, looking at when a person feels safe in his home, in his city, and amongst other people. Having been a victim of a crime, but also reading about criminal activity in newspapers and seeing it on television, contribute to increasing fear and a sense of insecurity amongst citizens. Even if Veneto has not reached the same worrying levels as some nearby regions, crime is still perceived as a problem. (Figure 11.2.24) In Veneto the percentage of families who feel that the area in which they live is risky has stood above the national average for years, but recent and encouraging improvements have been made: the share of families who express worries has diminished constantly since 2005 and, in 2007, it fell below the level of the national average (34.6%) to reach 29.2%. (Table 11.2.2) Foreigners and crime
Crime amongst immigrants is linked mainly with illegal immigrants.Veneto, like the rest of the North-East, has a high concentration of wealth and large clandestine flows of migrants are probably attracted here by the chimera of an easier life and by the promise of steady work that is not always to be found. Of the 11,970 individuals convicted in Veneto in 2005, 35% were born abroad, 90% of whom came from African and European countries; they were predominantly Moroccans and Romanians, the nationalities which make up the greatest number in the region. (Figure 11.2.25) Juvenile crime
Young people are cropping up more and more frequently in the daily news.In 2005 in Veneto 1,858 minors were charged with crimes (Note 14) of whom 35.5% were below 14 years of age and therefore could not be convicted. In Veneto the juvenile crime rate is the lowest in Italy. For 100,000 10-17 year olds in Veneto, 548 reports were made. This figure for Italy was 882. (Figure 11.2.26) Geographically, juvenile crime is a particular problem in the provinces of Venezia, with 845 charges per 10,000 residents 10-17 years of age, Rovigo (661), Verona (610) and Padova (580). In the provinces of Venezia, Verona, Vicenza and Padova 35-40% of the minors charged are under 14 years of age. (Table 11.2.3) As in the rest of the country, in Veneto more males are charged than females: in 2005 only one charge in four was for a crime committed by a girl. Looking at the charges brought against adolescents under 14 years of age, the number of girls involved increases and is almost equal to the boys of the same age for foreign minors charged. At least in part, this can be traced back to the nomadic foreign populations, of whom young girls, and especially preadolescents, are frequently responsible for crimes against property such as theft in homes. (Figure 11.2.27) Bullying
If bullying once was considered an innocuous and inevitable stage in adolescent development, recent studies have shown that it is a real behavioural problem with serious effects both in the short and long term.It has been proven, as a matter of fact, that the children who are the perpetrators of acts of bullying are more likely to become involved in serious criminal activity when they grow up. Bullying manifests itself in several ways (physical, verbal, psychological aggression), all of which have in common that episodes are repeated and involve the presence of an audience that participates or sees the incidents without reporting them. The phenomenon of bullying can also include very young children, but it is in adolescence that is becomes of particular concern. Various studies agree on the fact that acts of bullying occur mainly within the context of school, already in the first years of middle school numerous cases are reported. Preventive action should, therefore, begin at an early age at home and continue throughout the entire course of schooling. Despite the fact that there is an ever greater need to understand bullying in order to be able to prevent it, analysing the phenomenon quantitatively is still quite complicated given the scarcity of data available as well as the difficulty identifying and recording all the incidences occurring. A study carried out by the Regione Veneto, the University of Padova and by the Direzione Scolastica Regionale per il Veneto on the results of the HBSC 2002 study (Note 15) provides the most recent source of information available on the phenomenon of adolescent bullying in the region. The behaviour found in 11, 13 and 15 year old adolescents in Veneto confirms that bullying is a phenomenon that affects our region as well. During the two months leading up to the interviews almost a third of 11 year olds (31.4%) and of 15 year olds (32.6%) participated in at least one episode of bullying, but it was in the 13 year old age group that young bullies made up more than 40%. (Figure 11.2.28) Males dominate in figures on bullying at every age, they are responsible especially for the physical aggression, while the girls tend to attack verbally or through indirect behaviour such as gossip and exclusion from friendship groups. Considering the phenomenon from the point of view of the victims, it is the youngest group - the 11 year-olds, and the boys who are most frequently subject to violent acts or derision. Nearly half (44.7%) of 11 year-old boys mentioned having been victims of at least one episode of bullying. However, this worrying figure does decrease with age, reaching 33.4% in 13 year-old boys and 22.8% in 15 year-olds. Violence towards women
Violence towards women is one of the most widespread types of abuse in the world.Every day women of every age, race, religion and social class are victims of physical, sexual and psychological aggression, in most cases within the walls of their own homes and often by family members or acquaintances. However, the phenomenon is difficult to estimate precisely because most cases are not reported, both for fear of reprisals and because in some societies domestic violence is tolerated or even justified. Even in Italy, and in Western culture generally, victims are often still not keen on reporting abuse as they may be ashamed and, especially when they know their aggressor or he is their partner, they often tend to defend them, to minimise the fact or to take on part of the blame. In 2006 (Note 16) nearly 32% of Italian women between the ages of 16 and 70 had been victims of physical or sexual violence during their lives, while in Veneto this percentage is a little higher (34.3%). (Figure 11.2.29) Young women were found to be most vulnerable, while women over 45 were involved in episodes of violence less often. This may be a sign of increasing incidences of violent phenomena in society, or that younger people have a different perception of their own lives or are more willing to report the episodes suffered. (Figure 11.2.30) By examining the types of aggression, it can be seen that physical violence clearly prevails when the aggressor is the victim's partner, while sexual violence is more common when the aggression occurs outside of a relationship. (Figure 11.2.31) In Veneto, the number of cases of physical or sexual violence within the couple is lower than the national average, with 11 women out of 100 reporting physical violence and 5 out of 100 having suffered sexual violence by their partner. On the contrary, violence suffered by women at the hands of someone other than their partner is higher: 23% of women in Veneto have suffered some form of sexual violence by a man who is not their partner and 11.3% have suffered physical violence. As has been already been mentioned, there are still few reported cases throughout the country, especially in the Central-Southern regions. Those forms of violence which profoundly damage a woman's dignity, such as rape, are particularly shrouded in silence. In general, victims report acts committed by their partner more frequently than those committed by other men. In Veneto, which is placed somewhere in the middle of the rankings, 6.1% report violence committed by their partner and only 4.4% by people who are not their partners. (Figure 11.2.32) Although all types of aggression are violations of human rights, violence committed by one's partner is perceived as more serious than that committed by other men, also because injuries occur more frequently when the aggressor is one's partner. In Veneto, 28.4% of victims think that violence within the couple is very serious, violence committed by non partners is considered just as serious by 21% of the victims. (Figure 11.2.33) Psychological violence is often added to physical and sexual violence, and its effects can be just as painful. In Italy, as in Veneto, about 91% of women who are victims of physical and/or sexual violence by their partner or ex-partner also suffer from psychological violence. Systematic psychological violence primarily affects women in the Central-Southern regions: almost a third of women in Campagna, for example, are constantly or often victims of psychological violence. In Veneto, the percentage decreases to 18.7% and of these, 43.4% are victims of isolation, 36.2% have the use of their money controlled and 33.2% suffer exaggerated attempts at controlling by their partners. (Figure 11.2.34) and (Figure 11.2.35) Back
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