#ShopKind campaign gathers momentum as retail industry comes together to tackle shopworker abuse
Posted on in Business News , Cycles News
- 1.2 million incidents of verbal abuse and 40,000 incidents of violence against shopworkers in the last year
- 65% of shopworkers have experienced Covid-related threats with 400 abused every day
The #ShopKind campaign was launched in April with the purpose of spreading awareness of the violence that takes place in shops on a daily basis.
40,00
0
shopworkers were victims of violence in the last year according to a
2021 Crime Report from the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS).
ACS are a member of the Independent Retailers Confederation (IRC), a well-established organisation representing c.100,000 independent retailers throughout the UK.
The Crime Report comes as the UK's biggest retailers, the Home Office and independent charity Crimestoppers have today rallied together and launched a new campaign urging the public to ShopKind after the reopening of non-essential stores and shops across the country.
The #ShopKind campaign urges the public to be mindful of shopworkers' essential role in supporting people during these difficult times and emphasises that we should all treat workers and other customers with respect, kindness and gratitude.
The Home Office backed campaign is supported by major high street names as well as the nation's independent shopkeepers, and the shopworkers Union USDAW. Over 100 retailers, local authorities and police representatives are supporting the campaign. The ShopKind campaign will be visible across high streets and social media from today.
Abuse and violence towards shopworkers is a bigger problem than many
people might think, with at least 400 shopworkers abused every day
according to the British Retail Consortium.
The 2021 Crime Report, shows that over the past year there have been
over 1.2million incidents of verbal abuse, and around 40,000 incidents
of violence against people working in convenience stores. Of these, more
than a quarter involved a weapon, such as a knife, hammer, axe, or
syringe.
Two-thirds of retailers (65%) have experienced Covid-related threats, with the most common causes of abuse being: reminding customers to wear face coverings, reminding customers of social distancing measures and queueing outside stores.