According to the U.S. Department of Labor, homicide was the second leading cause of death for women on the job in 2003. And worse yet, in that same year these homicides were linked to more than 29,000 cases of sexual assault in the workplace.

The results of these assaults and murders are tragic, and in most cases, entirely preventable. In the best case scenario for such a horrible event, employers face issues of low morale that are epidemic; the victim is understandably traumatized and suffers severe emotional, physical, and psychological damage, while co-workers suffer from feelings of guilt and fear. This leads to diminished productivity, healthcare and psychiatric counseling, and loss of employees. And more, these kinds of assaults leave companies open to liability, especially in cases where the perpetrator has a history of violence.

In fact, sexual violence in the workplace is a danger that rarely receives the kind of attention and prevention it deserves. And why might this be? Mostly, due to the difficult nature in identifying sexual predators. While all of us might think we could identify a sexual predator, the truth is that to a large extent they defy standard profiling procedures.

For example, according to the standard national profile for a sexual predator, this person, while almost always male, can be of any race and age. They can be highly functional people, with a long history of stable employment, and the majority of them are married. And they are more dangerous than many other criminals--sexual offenders are 4 times more likely to commit the same crime again, and the likelihood that they will do so can be up to 71 percent.

So what can you do to protect yourself and your employees? Conduct a thorough background check including criminal records searches of county, state, and federal records. Search sexual offender registries, national criminal databases, arrest warrant records, prison inmate records, and even international criminal records. Exhausted yet? Not when you go to EBI; All of these services, and more, are available with EBI’s employment and background screening. With EBI you can do everything possible to protect your company and your employees from the trauma of workplace sexual violence, without spending hours combing through public records.