The Unsafe Social Worker

Criminal Moms Coffee Club
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A podcast that gets real about workplace violence; a warning sign for all helping professionals. Through candid guest conversations about unsafe work environments in social work, nursing, and emergency care, The Unsafe Social Worker asks what it costs to care for others when your own safety is overlooked. Those conversations set the stage for Jenn's story, told in her own words across a series of deeply personal episodes. Do we really have a resource issue, or a "way you treat your people" issue? Sometimes that cost is invisible… until it's not. A Criminal Moms Coffee Club Production.

  1. Oct 5

    Epilogue: The Cost of Normalizing Warning Signs

    What happens when we normalize warning signs?  Offenders are enabled, violence is minimized, and calling women "thin-skulled" reinforces the very culture that allows violence against women to continue. As this series comes to an end, we leave you with one final question: what happens when we stop calling the warning signs normal?

  2. Oct 5

    S1E12 | "Where Was Your Union?"

    "And you're probably wondering… where was your union?" In this episode of The Unsafe Social Worker, I turn to the organization that was supposed to represent me. Five different union representatives. Five different lawyers. What should have been a source of support became another question: who was actually going to help? "Unionized hot potatoes. Nobody wanted to get burned." I reflect on what it felt like to move between representatives while trying to get meaningful support, and why union membership alone didn't leave me feeling protected. If you're part of a union, get familiar with the duty of fair representation (DFR) process. When you need your union most, do you know what to do if you believe that representation has fallen short?

  3. Oct 5

    S1E11 | When Your Lawyer Becomes Part of the Problem

    "When you're in trouble, get help." But what happens when the person you turn to becomes part of the problem? In this episode of The Unsafe Social Worker, I share what happened after following familiar advice: "Talk to a lawyer." My criminal lawyer sued me and was ultimately ordered to pay money back to me after his services were found to have fallen below the professional standard expected. He had read my emails and used the harassment I was experiencing as the basis for his closing submission. Yet I was left questioning why harassment happening in front of him went unaddressed. He didn't win his lawsuit. But did that outcome bring meaningful accountability or simply leave me carrying the cost of asking for help?

  4. Oct 5

    S1E10 | The Witness

    "Would you do to him what was done to me?" In this episode of The Unsafe Social Worker, I reflect on the witness, the double standards I experienced, and being terminated two days before my appeal. We tell people to speak up, document their concerns, and ask for help. But what happens when their words are recorded inaccurately or not at all? What happens when child welfare reports create danger for the worker, and the systems they were taught to trust become part of that danger? I question the response of the Nova Scotia College of Social Workers and what it means for helping professionals when reporting fear leads to scrutiny rather than support. "Do you feel safe reporting?" That question matters when speaking up means having your credibility and even your sanity called into question.

  5. Oct 5

    S1E9 | Closing Submissions… "Was There Even a Threat?"

    "What's supposed to be the threat?" In this episode of The Unsafe Social Worker, closing submissions and the judge's decision raise difficult questions about how fear, intimidation, and workplace safety are understood in court. I revisit testimony about unwanted photographs, comments about my sleep, and warnings that I would "pay" alongside repeated calls to police and a lack of employer support. Despite acknowledging my discomfort and fear, the judge concluded: "I find the picture taking not a threat." I question how conflicting accounts were weighed, what context was missing when I couldn't speak to the client file, and why a meeting described as "normal" looked so different in other testimony. When your fear is acknowledged but the behaviour behind it is dismissed, where does that leave you and other helping professionals?

  6. Oct 5

    S1E8 | Whose Safety Matters in Court?

    "You'll regret it." "You'll be sorry." "You should worry." On the second day of court, I ask how threats, unwanted photographs, being blocked in a room, and damage to a social worker's car can be minimized while the worker's response takes centre stage. In this episode of The Unsafe Social Worker, I describe being assessed as a social worker without being permitted to explain the risks from that perspective. I question whose privacy is protected, whose information is exposed, and why safeguards appear to apply to some people but not others. From difficulties serving a subpoena to the absence of a workplace investigation, I examine what happens when the workplace context is stripped away and a worker is left facing the consequences alone. Do you hear justice?

  7. Oct 5

    S1E7 | "Do I Need a Lawyer?"

    "Do I need a lawyer?" That was the question he asked while describing what he did to me. In this episode of The Unsafe Social Worker, I examine what happens when documented concerns involving violence, addictions, and harm to women and children are left out of the conversation and the focus becomes my response. He acknowledged taking photographs without my consent. "She looked pretty worried." Yet his explanation was: "I've got every right in the world to do what I want." I question whether police cautions were ever delivered, what was lost when the opening minutes of an audio recording were missing, and why safeguards appeared to apply selectively. When known risks are excluded and concerning behaviour is minimized, whose version becomes the full story?

  8. Oct 5

    S1E6 | Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts

    What happens when the systems meant to keep you safe leave you facing workplace violence alone? In this episode of The Unsafe Social Worker, I question what protection really looks like when a safety concern takes 14 days to receive a response and an investigation stretches to a year, all while workers and their families bear the cost. From closed-door conversations between managers and police to reporting procedures changed by email without training, I examine the gaps between promised safety and meaningful action. I also discuss a statement that went undocumented and whether the Labour Board and Complaints Commission offer real accountability. When the focus shifts from the violence itself to your response to it, who is protecting you?

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About

A podcast that gets real about workplace violence; a warning sign for all helping professionals. Through candid guest conversations about unsafe work environments in social work, nursing, and emergency care, The Unsafe Social Worker asks what it costs to care for others when your own safety is overlooked. Those conversations set the stage for Jenn's story, told in her own words across a series of deeply personal episodes. Do we really have a resource issue, or a "way you treat your people" issue? Sometimes that cost is invisible… until it's not. A Criminal Moms Coffee Club Production.

Information

  • Creator
    Criminal Moms Coffee Club
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026
  • Show Website
    The Unsafe Social Worker