The name of the Group, DAWN – Dignity At Work Now, seeks to emphasise:

• the urgency of tackling the harmful effects of workplace bullying
• the imperative of treating others with dignity and respect
• the importance of the Dignity at Work Bill which, if it becomes law, will be the only piece of UK legislation which specifically addresses the problems of bullying in the workplace
• the need for optimism associated with a fresh start: the emergence of light and hope, after experiencing the darkness, despair and isolation of being bullied

Patrons

Tim Field DBA(Hon) Patron 2002 to 2006

The late Tim Field was universally respected for his commitment to challenging bullying behaviour in its many different guises. He was the webmaster of Bully OnLine, the author of 'Bully in sight: how to predict, resist, challenge and combat workplace bullying', and the co-author of 'Bullycide: death at playtime, an exposé of child suicide caused by bullying'. The significance of his contribution to our understanding of bullying and its consequences was recognised by the award of two honorary doctorates.

Professor Cary Cooper CBE

Cary is currently Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health, and Pro Vice Chancellor (External Relations) at Lancaster University. Cary is a world authority on issues connected with work-related stress and workplace bullying. His list of publications accounts for almost 50 lines in the latest edition of Who's Who. He has been an adviser to the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization. Cary was the founder, and is immediate past-president, of the British Academy of Management, and a fellow of the American Academy of Management. He is the Editor-in-Chief of The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Management and, as Chair of the UK Government's Higher Education Funding Council's Research Assessment Exercise in 1996 and 2001, oversaw rating of the UK's business and management schools. In June 2005 it was announced that Cary is to lead a new UK government think tank — the Sunningdale Institute. The Institute is poised to bring the world's leading academics and industry figures together to advise on issues facing UK public sector organisations.

DAWN is privileged to have two such eminent individuals — both of whom have done so much to raise awareness of issues relating to workplace bullying and its devastating consequences — associated with its aims and activities.

History

For some time, a number of us had been helping each other to overcome the effects of bullying. The catalyst, which brought us together to form our present group, was an email Cath Christian submitted to Tim Field’s Bully OnLine website in March 2000. Cath wrote, “If there is anyone in the Birmingham/West Midlands area who has experienced workplace bullying (particularly in the education sector) who is interested in forming a self help/support/campaigning group around this issue will they contact Cath Christian ...” We began to hold informal meetings at our respective homes, and following the official establishment of DAWN, on 16th April 2002, we still consider this to be an important aspect of what we are trying to do. We hold regular get-togethers/support meetings on the first Wednesday of each month. These meetings allow us to share our experiences and concerns with others, who understand what it is like to be bullied, in a non-judgemental environment.

DAWN’s Aims

• campaigning to identify, eradicate, and raise awareness of issues associated with workplace bullying in the Midlands
• supporting Members of the Group in dealing with the consequences of bullying
• campaigning against employers who are identified as failing to address the problem of workplace bullying

• campaigning to identify, eradicate, and raise awareness of issues associated with workplace bullying throughout the country
• encouraging the Health & Safety Executive and the Health & Safety Commission, and other bodies responsible for health and safety at work, to be more proactive in addressing workplace bullying and to be provided with sufficient resources to achieve this
• encouraging unions and professional associations to effectively support their members who have been, or are being bullied in the workplace
• liaising with other similar groups, and various individuals and organisations contributing to the campaign against workplace bullying
• the promotion of dignity at work through good practice, particularly in the design, implementation and monitoring of anti-bullying in the workplace policies and practices
• helping to secure the introduction of effective legislation (such as the Dignity at Work Bill) designed to help eradicate workplace bullying and address its damaging consequences

Methods Used to Promote DAWN’s Aims Include

• regular meetings to develop the work of the Group through the implementation of agreed projects and initiatives
• communication between members by informal meetings, telephone, post and the Internet (email and websites)
• the recording of individual testimony
• the gathering, production, collation and dissemination of resource material
• arranging 'in-house', as well as, public meetings, workshops, seminars and conferences

A Statement by DAWN at the House of Lords

The following statement was read to a meeting, attended by well over a hundred people, at the House of Lords, on 29th May 2002, regarding the Campaign Against Bullying at Work (CABAW) and the progress of the Dignity at Work Bill sponsored by Baroness Gibson.

“DAWN - an acronym for ‘Dignity At Work Now’ - is a newly established anti-bullying in the workplace group based in the Midlands.

For several years, a number of us, who have been bullied at our places of work, have been offering each other mutual support. DAWN was formally established on 16th April 2002, with a view to continuing this support role, and also to act as a campaigning group with the aims of raising awareness of issues associated with workplace bullying, and promoting dignity at work through good practice and the introduction of effective legislation.

The members of DAWN have experienced bullying in a variety of forms:

• being excluded from their places of work
• being denied access to policy documents, as well as, to sources of support specifically set-up to meet the needs of employees with problems
• being shouted at and subjected to nasty, intimidating and aggressive behaviour;
• some employers have displayed a complete disregard for the legal obligations placed upon them
• managers have ‘cut corners’ and ‘ridden roughshod’ over laid-down procedures, lied to cover up their mistakes, and deliberately spread falsehoods with the intention of besmirching reputations

As a result of being bullied:

• the health of DAWN’s members has been severely affected
• many of them have experienced the depths of despair, and consequently been forced to leave their jobs
• their families have had to share in the pain and distress
• there is a strong sense of injustice because no-one in authority has been prepared to listen to them, and the bullies have managed ‘to get away with it’

DAWN believes that workplace abuse is endemic in certain jobs, as well as, institutionalised in many occupational practices. Frequently, the main culprits are those whom many would regard as respectable, upright citizens. All too often, employers and managers are more interested in maintaining appearances and highlighting the fine-sounding rhetoric contained in brochures and policy statements, rather than addressing what is actually going on in front of them, and taking appropriate action to prevent workplace bullying from happening in the first place.”