Introduction The violence is strongly present in the current hospital context, where the violence in the hospital is increasing, in particular with regard to harm to persons. The emergency department, as the hospital’s multidisciplinary gateway, is now the most widespread hospital service with the highest number of acts of violence.

Methods This is a cross-sectional study conducted with the emergency department staff at a prefectural hospital in Casablanca using a self-administered questionnaire. The aim is to evaluate the violence in the emergency department and to define the methods of prevention.

Result Only 30 people (37.5%) participated in the survey, with a female predominance (66.6%). The average age was 35 years. 90% of our respondents feel exposed to violence in the performance of their duties. Nurses are the most exposed occupational category (34.6%). Visitors and accompanying persons were the main perpetrators of the violence (66.6%). Violence occurs more at night (39%). 69% of violence is harmful to people. Only 33.3% of the violence was reported to the administration.

Discussion Several studies, including ours, show a female predominance, this could be explained by the feminization of health personnel. In our study, visitors or accompanying persons were the most responsible for the violence (66.6%), which is in line with several Moroccan studies. However, the 2014 annual report of the national observatory of violence in the health sector shows that in 72% of the perpetrators of the violence were patients. Personal injury is the most frequent, which is in accordance with the literature. On the other hand, the reporting rate remains relatively low compared to the literature.

Conclusion Violence against health personnel has become a daily reality. Its continuous rise has sounded the alarm calling to control this risk. Efforts should be pursued towards evaluation and prevention in order to optimise exercise safety.