Scared home care workers are demanding protection at night in the face of rape threats, assaults and intimidation.
GMB union members rallied last night at the City Chambers in Glasgow to ask for safety measures, such as car pools, body-worn cameras and working in pairs.
It comes as a survey conducted by the union revealed that 96% of workers feel unsafe being alone at night.
79% said there was not enough support for lone workers and more than half, 54%, said walking alone in the dark was affecting their mental health.
Around 50 Health and Social Care Partnership employees took to the city centre last night, waving flags and shouting "What do we want? Safe streets. When do we want it? Now."
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One worker, who has been at the job for 18 years, explained that one time, as she was walking down the street at night, a man shouted at her: 'Watch you don't get raped tonight'.
But the latest terrifying incident happened to her just last week.
She said: "I was approached on Sunday. This guy stood right in front of me, asking for money.
"This was at 4.25pm, it was still light but there was nobody else on the street.
"I was so scared, he was very close to me and I kept thinking he was going to punch me in the face.
"He wanted me to go to the ATM and get money out for him, or use my phone.
"I told him I don't carry those with me. I zipped down my jacket and showed him my lanyard, proving that I am working. Only then, he backed off."
Wilma Telford, home carer, added: "You walk between visits at night on edge, holding onto your phone in your pocket, looking around to see if anyone is behind you.
“It can be dark and deserted and you feel totally alone. It preys on your mind.
"Assaults happen on a regular basis and the public doesn't hear about them.
"Lately, I have heard stories every week. We have had girls assaulted in houses as well. One person had it happen to her twice.
"We are not supported at all. Hopefully, with this campaign, we can achieve some change.
"Something needs to be done to help us be safe. You go to work, you don't expect to be approached by strangers."
Shirley Furie, GMB representative, said: "The bottom line is, there have been austerity cuts for years, causing this to happen.
"We are asking the government to put their money where their mouth is, and invest in these people, who are delivering a statutory service to vulnerable people.
"If the workers don't feel safe, these people won't get the support they need."
A Health and Social Care Partnership spokesperson said they take the safety and well-being of our home care staff extremely seriously and they have policies in place to help workers.
They added: "We also carry out regular and thorough risk assessments of service users and their environments.
"In addition, a newly introduced emergency alert system enables carers to call for immediate assistance from emergency services or internal support teams, with access to over 300 support vehicles operating across the city, day and night.
"We want to be clear that there have been no reported incidents of sexual assault or staff being spat on while travelling in the course of their duties."
However, employees are urged to report any incidents.
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