Knife injuries often occur in the heat of the moment. But the effects of these can last a lifetime.
We caught up with Councillor John Howson who has experienced this first hand after being involved in stabbing 48 years ago.
Could you tell us what happened and how you came to be injured?
I was teaching a Year 11 class in January 1977 when a former pupil burst into the classroom, broke my nose, and stabbed me 3 times. This was as a result of a grudge against the school. The story made the national newspapers at the time.
How did this make you feel immediately afterwards?
Fearful and it was a challenge to return to work and the classroom where it happened.
Does it still have any affect on you to this day?
Yes, watching films/TV with knives, and there are too many violent programmes even on terrestrial channels let alone the internet, it still a challenge. Sight of a knife provokes a fear reaction even nearly 50 years on.
Do you have any advice for people who might find themselves drawn into knife crime?
Don’t ruin your life: bin the knife and not your life. Your family, parents, brothers and sisters, and even grandparents will be badly affected if you are sent to prison just for carrying a knife.
Councillor John Howson now works for Oxfordshire County Council and is a cabinet member for Children, Education and Families. While he continues to work in the public sector, it is clear that what happened to him has had a long-lasting effect.