NAOMI Pryde was just 17 when she started her first job at an Edinburgh chemist's shop. As the "Saturday girl", her duties mostly consisted of manning the till and greeting customers. The fact the chemist in question had a high number of recovering drug addicts receiving methadone in-store didn't bother her. The vast majority, like the bulk of her other customers, were respectful and polite. So much so, perhaps, that her bosses had never installed a panic button or told her what to do if she felt threatened. For the majority of the time this didn't matter, but on one occasion this attitude could have had serious consequences.

"The man was demanding his methadone right there and then and just got more and more irate, " she says. "Everybody who worked in the shop knew he was suffering from Aids and before I knew what was happening he grabbed me and threatened me with a syringe full of blood. He said he was dying and that I would be too if I didn't give him what he wanted. I think I went into shock. I just started talking to him as if he was any other customer, trying to calm him down." Pryde managed to sit the man down, went next door and phoned the police.

But nearly as bad as the incident itself, she says, was the fact that her employers didn't give her any support. "They talked about it as if it wasn't a big deal and just expected me to go back to work, " she remembers. "I definitely think my age had something to do with it, because I wasn't really taken seriously. It's only now, four years later, that I realise what an effect it had on me." Cases like Pryde's prompted the Scottish Executive to launch its Bang Out Of Order campaign two years ago, with the mantra of "see the person, not the job". Pryde's case was extreme, but there are many others who receive more frequent, low level abuse and accept it as part of their job ­ parking attendants deal with irate motorists; bus drivers encounter some angry passengers.

It's a problem that crosses all jobs and age groups, although young people get more than their fair share.

In its research last year, the Executive discovered nearly half of all 16- to 24-year-olds in public-facing roles had experienced some form of abuse in the workplace. Being spat at or physically threatened was not uncommon; feeling scared or badly shaken by the encounter was almost always the result.

There were tales of teenage bar staff being challenged by drinkers with pool cues, or call centre workers being shouted at repeatedly. As a major employer of young people, the retail sector featured high on the list of jobs where abuse is meted out ­ often by older customers.

"The perception is still out there that young people are the perpetrators of abuse rather than the victims and that's a stigma we have to challenge, " says Rajiv Joshi, chairman of the Scottish Youth Parliament. "People in the early stage of their working lives don't necessarily know what their rights are or where to go when this sort of thing happens."

The Executive's survey statistics back this up: more than 40-per cent of young workers said they didn't know where to report an incident of abuse, and in many cases didn't think it was worth doing. That's why the Executive will launch a campaign this month urging employees to report abuse to their bosses, and to press employers to set up reporting systems in the workplace for staff who are threatened by the public.

The timing of the campaign is not an accident ­ of the 50,000 young people entering the Scottish workforce every year, many will be taking their first positions in the runup to Christmas. But while sore feet and low wages might be a necessary evil of that first part-time job, intimidation and threats shouldn't be.

Fiona Moriarty, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, says: "Any person dealing with the public on a daily basis will tell you they've seen an escalation in both verbal and physical attacks in recent years and that says something about our society." And she agrees that Christmas is a flashpoint: "We would ask consumers to think about their behaviour. We want to ask them whether it's really right to be physically or verbally aggressive to a shop worker who's actually there to make their experience more pleasurable." Workers can help by keeping a diary of any abuse they have suffered and approaching their superiors for training. Shop workers' union Usdaw offers practical support for people on the receiving end of abuse and the Scottish TUC, the umbrella body for trade unions, offers discounted membership for young people and can direct them to help and advice from a relevant union.

Hamish Drummond, chairman of the STUC's Youth Steering Group, joined the fight for the rights of young workers after his own experience at the sharp end. Leaving university at the age of 21 five years ago, he took a temporary job behind the tills of a national retailer in Dundee. Normally, he says, there were no problems. But like Pryde, he was given no advice or training on what to do in the event of a more serious incident.

"A shoplifter left the store with a bag of stolen clothes and I was told to chase after him, " he says. "I was just catching up with him when he pulled out a Stanley knife with the blade showing." Drummond let the man escape and returned to the shop to explain. But if he expected any sympathy, he was to be disappointed.

"They gave me five minutes to have a cup of tea and then gave me a row for letting him go. They didn't even call the police. I was very shaken but the culture in the shop was that it wasn't that big a deal and just went with the territory of working there." Chief inspector Alex McGuire from the Safer Scotland anti-violence campaign, says: "It is abhorrent that people of any age going to work to earn a living should be subjected to violence of any description. The fact that it happens to young people is particularly worrying as they can be the most vulnerable and we would urge all victims to report it so that action can be taken." Drummond says doing nothing is not an option. Respect, not abuse, should come with the turf, he argues; patience, not aggression, is what workers should expect.

"Accepting abuse and assaults from customers simply perpetuates things because people get the impression that it's acceptable, " he says. "We need to make the change now because the fewer people pipe up, the more likely it is that incidents like these will continue."

PROTECT YOURSELF

Top tips to help protect your safety in the workplace.

If you are experiencing any form of work related violence, whether verbal or physical, or have any concerns about your health and safety at work, you should:

Immediately inform your employer of any verbal or physical abuse you encounter in the workplace, providing details of the date and nature of the incident If any member of the public causes you alarm, annoyance or disturbance in the workplace, contact Crimestoppers to report the incident on 0800 555 111 If you are subject to abuse from members of the public, ensure you keep a personal diary recording all incidents of abuse however small they may seem Ensure your employer takes action and provides you with feedback on how the issue is being handled If you haven't received any training on how to deal with violent or abusive customers, approach your employer to discuss this Encourage your employer to develop a policy to deal with violence in the workplace if there isn't one in place Remember under the Health and Safety at Work Act, every employer has a legal duty to ensure the safety of their employees and should have the appropriate structures in place to help eliminate or control any risk of violence