Scottish Government

ISBN 0 07559 2983 7 (Web only publication)
This document is also available in pdf format (156k)

Campaign Overview

• In September 2004, the Executive launched Bang out of Order - a public awareness campaign to address the issue of verbal and physical attacks on people who come into contact with, or provide a service to, the public in the course of their work ("public-facing workers"). The impact of the campaign in terms of awareness and public perceptions of the issue were studied through a pre- and post-campaign computer aided personal interview ( CAPI) research exercise (Wave 1 and Wave 2).
• Phase 2 of Bang out of Order ran from October to November 2005. It was shown on more television channels than the 2004 campaign (including STV, Grampian and Borders) and was aimed at the general public, public-facing workers and their employers.
• As with the 2004 campaign, it aimed to raise awareness of the issue of violence against public facing workers and to build consensus that violence - whether physical or verbal - against those who work for the public is unacceptable.
• In addition to the aims of the 2004 campaign, the 2005 campaign also offered information and resources to employers and employees on how to report incidents of abuse.
• A third wave of CAPI omnibus research was conducted after the 2005 campaign; main findings are presented below.

Highlights

• The proportions of respondents strongly agreeing that physical (76%) and verbal (75%) abuse against those who work with the public is wrong both increased by 19% since Wave 1.
• Spontaneous awareness of advertising and publicity on the subject of violence against workers among the general public increased from 16% before the launch of the campaign to 58% following the latest Phase of advertising. In total, 39% of respondents described some aspect of the latest advertising; a reasonably positive result.
• A large majority (88%) of respondents agreed or agreed strongly that if they saw a worker being physically abused by a member of the public, they would report it. Agreement was less strong for verbal abuse, with 80% agreeing or agreeing strongly that they would report it.
• Of those working in a public facing occupation, 38% had suffered verbal abuse by a member of the public in the last 12 months. Around two thirds (66%) had reported it, suggesting underreporting.

Implications

• Attitudes towards the unacceptability of physical or verbal abuse have strengthened since the Bang out of Order campaign was launched in 2004. The proportion of respondents expressing strong agreement that it is unacceptable was higher among those who were spontaneously aware of the latest TV advertising. While other factors will contribute to this shift, it is likely that the communication from this public-awareness campaign has supported this trend.