Dozens of paramedics have gathered at a regional Victorian court as two women accused of assaulting emergency workers in separate incidents faced a magistrate. 

Data from Ambulance Victoria reveals that there were 696 incidents of violence against paramedics between July 2020 and June 2021.

Ward Young, a member of the Victorian ambulance union, says that a paramedic is assaulted on average every 50 hours in Victoria, and that 95 per cent of healthcare workers have experienced violence and aggression in their workplace. 

In Victoria, the law stipulates that assaulting an emergency worker carries a mandatory jail sentence, and minimum sentencing guidelines are in place for injuring an emergency worker. 

The minimum jail sentence for assaulting an emergency worker is six months unless there are special circumstances.

Recent incidents involving emergency workers and first responders in Victoria and across the borders have caused paramedics to reconsider how much they can tolerate while trying to help people, Mr Young said. 

“We know some of the scenes are quite emotionally charged, that we step into,” he said.

“We're happy to step into those, but we need your help to take your mate aside if they're pushing the boundaries and make sure you protect us so we can protect you.”

The protest comes after several recent incidents involving emergency service workers. Two police officers were stabbed while responding to an incident in South Australia last week. A paramedic in New South Wales was allegedly stabbed to death outside a McDonald's last month. A Service NSW worker was stabbed in a service centre in Sydney last week.

Mr Young and his colleagues hope that the court cases and recent incidents will raise awareness and prompt the public to respect and protect emergency workers. 

“We don't want to be assaulted,” he said. 

“We just want to do our jobs.”