Scottish clergy are being offered self-defence classes to protect themselves against a tide of violent attacks on professional people.
Unite, the union which represents more than 2,500 clergymen throughout the UK, is to organise the lessons in self-defence and risk avoidance. It is estimated that 70 per cent of clergymen, many of whom work in inner cities, have experienced violence during work and they are more likely to become victims than doctors, social workers or any member of the emergency services. 'It is a profession where there are always risks,' said Rachel Maskell of Unite.
Just days after a Glasgow GP was assaulted and stabbed at work in her surgery, applications for self-defence training among the professional, middle-classes has shot up dramatically.
Dr Helen Jackson, 56, was assaulted at the practice in Hyndland Road, in the west end of Glasgow, on Thursday. Although her injuries were not life-threatening she was taken to the city's Western Infirmary suffering from wounds to her body. Dr Jackson is the latest in a rising toll of health workers to suffer violence at the hands of members of the public.
At a course being held in Glasgow today 25 per cent of students are NHS staff, 30 per cent police officers, 20 per cent fire fighters and the rest are made up of other professionals, including lawyers and teachers.
'Demand for self-defence classes among front-line emergency workers and professional people working with the public is on the increase,' said Simon Leila, of 360 Defence which is running the course.
'In every class we teach, there are at least a couple of people who have been victims of knife of crime. A few years ago I hardly ever met anybody who had been stabbed or even threatened with a knife.'
