Almost all Big Issue sellers in the South-west have been verbally abused while selling the magazine.
A survey for the homeless people's magazine found that 91% of vendors had been verbally abused, almost half physically abused and 64% told to "get a job".

The research was published as part of a campaign to show that selling the Big Issue is legitimate work (HT 12 December 2003, page 9).

Vendors in Wales and the South-west will get newsstands, tabards or branded t-shirts to mark them out from bogus vendors who get hold of copies of the magazine and use them as a front for begging.

Jeff Mitchell, director of Big Issue South-west, said: "It's terrible that vendors are treated as a nuisance when they have chosen to earn money legitimately.

"They work for a living and we are working with vendors to try to ensure everyone understands they are working, not begging."

Source

Housing Today