The growing and complex problem of violence against paramedics has been described in the research community as an important public health issue - and with good reason: paramedics are a vital part of our community safety net; yet every day they run the risk of being abused, threatened, or assaulted in the course of their duties.

Together with Dr. Elizabeth Donnelly, I'm part of a team within Peel Regional Paramedic Services working to protect our paramedics from violence and mitigate the long-term health risks that come with it. The External Violence Against Paramedics (EVAP) potrfolio includes, among other things:

• Developing an innovative point-of-event reporting process to document, track, and follow-up on incidents of violence perpetrated against paramedics

• Providing paramedics with the tools, training, and procedural safeguards they need to stay safe

• Raising the public consciousness on the harms from violence paramedics face in their work through a comprehensive public awareness campaign

• Conducting research to better understand the scope of the problem, its consequences for paramedics, and the ways we can work collaboratively to strengthen paramedic safety