The Scottish Centre for Personal Safety was a winner at the Scottish Public Service Awards

A pioneering project which teaches self-defence to those with visual impairments has won an award.

The Scottish Centre for Personal Safety picked up the Voluntary Sector Partnership Award at the Scottish Public Service Awards last night (Wednesday 16 December).

The award, sponsored by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), for its Empowering Personal Safety training for sensory impaired people. The course sees staff and volunteers work with blind Scots to design and create personal safety course for blind and visually impaired people.

Blind people are more than twice as likely to be attacked than a sighted person, mostly because they can’t identify their attacker.

As a result they are often fearful of going outside, and particularly anxious at night.

SCVO chief executive Anna Fowlie said: “The Scottish Public Service Awards, hosted by Holyrood Magazine, celebrate all the good work that happens across public services in Scotland, often unseen by most of us.

“I’m pleased that SCVO sponsor the award for partnership between the public and voluntary sectors. This year we’ve seen some life-changing examples, and I’m pleased to say it’s not all been about coronavirus! Our winner, the Scottish Centre for Personal Safety, highlights the particular difficulties faced by visually impaired people and what can be achieved when people are empowered to take action, challenge stereotypes and build their confidence. Very well done!”

Now in their seventh year, the annual Scottish Public Service Awards celebrate excellence within Scotland's public services.

The awards are run by Holyrood in partnership with the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government.

This year they were held virtually with a record number of attendees registered to watch the awards online.