NEARLY six in 10 social workers in your area have been victims of violence in the course of their work. Over a fifth have had to seek medical attention for their injuries.

This is why Community Care magazine is running a nationwide campaign 'No Fear', backed by many major medical bodies, to tackle the issue of violence and stress in social work. We are running a high profile conference, practical workshops and a media campaign as part of the initiative.

At a national level we are lobbying Government to issue targets on reducing the number of violent incidents against social workers. At a local level we believe that social services departments should issue compulsory safety procedures and policies to tackle the problem. For example - one safety measure to help social workers might be to issue mobile phones or alarms for those most 'at risk'.

Your support is crucial to the campaign's success. If you want to share your experience of the issue, get involved in the campaign - or have views on what needs to be done - please fax the campaign desk on 0181 652 4739 or e-mail us on: nadia.james@rbi.co.uk

We believe that social workers deserve the same level of support, security and training that other professions on the front line, such as the police, receive. With your support we can help create a future where social workers can go about their job with confidence and without fear of attack.

Polly Neate

Editor

Community Care

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.