Half of all emergency service workers, including fire fighters, ambulance personnel and emergency service workers, were victims of physical aggression last year, according to a survey of 836 people conducted by the VIAS Institute.
Of all forms of violence and aggression, verbal aggression was the most frequent, Belga News Agency reports.
In the past year, almost three out of four emergency workers (74%) were called names, and 15% of them reported experiencing it weekly. One in six (16%) also experienced sexual harassment, and 10% experienced physical assault.
Physical aggression from people being assisted
Half of the respondents indicated that they had experienced physical aggression at least once or more in the last twelve months, involving pushing, hitting or kicking, throwing or destroying objects and physically hindering someone.
In most cases, it was the patient or person being offered assistance who became aggressive.
Not all incidents are reported, with only one in six cases (16%) reported to the police. A quarter of the interviewed care workers said they’re considering changing jobs because of experiencing aggression.
VIAS advocates making violence and aggression more open to discussion through informal briefings, information sessions and confidential counsellors, among other things.
They stressed that specific training for social workers to learn how to deal with stressful situations that result in violence also remains important.
