Healthcare workers across the world are exposed to violence-and it’s time to do something about it. Alison Moore reports on the theme of this year’s international nurses’ day

WHAT ‘DISEASE’ kills two million people a year and poses a major threat to healthcare workers? Here’s a clue: it is endemic in various forms across the world; in some of its manifestations it disproportionately affects women and can leave them mentally and physically damaged, if they survive.