Citation

Romain-Glassey N, Gut M, De Puy J, Mangin P. J. Forensic Leg. Med. 2014; 26: 46-49.

Affiliation

Violence Medical Unit, University Centre of Legal Medicine, Geneva and Lausanne, Lausanne University Hospital Centre, Rue du Bugnon 44, CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jflm.2014.06.009

PMID

25066172

Abstract

Between 2007 and 2009, aggressions by security agents of nightclubs on clients increased from 6% to 10% among community violence situations encountered at the Violence Medical Unit (VMU) at the Lausanne University Hospital in Switzerland. Most victims were young men who had been drinking alcohol before the assault. About one quarter (25.7%) presented with one or several fractures, all of them in the head area. (For more details, refer to the previous article "When nightclub security agents assault clients" published in 2012(1).) Following this first study, we performed a second qualitative study in order to bring more information about the context and highlight victims' behaviors and experiences. Four themes emerged: how the assault began; the assault itself; third-party involvement; and the psychological state of victims when they consulted the VMU. The findings of this second study complemented the statistical results of the first study by showing under what circumstances security agents of nightclubs respond with physical violence to situations they consider a threat to security. Furthermore, the study described consequences for the victims that could be quite serious. Our findings support the need for nightclubs to improve selection and training of security staff.

Language: en