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@Schwaz
Just posting this up here having not read all the other posts: this is my reply to David's original message, as sent to other CTUK instructors on Monday night.
Look forward to catching up on the rest of this thread and perhaps adding some more comments later this week.
I do not discuss the specific possibility of drivers physically threatening a cyclist as a 'punishment' for riding assertively with trainees at present, though I have noted it happening more often to me in its 'light' variety - people deliberately passing close or swerving near me - of late.
What I do discuss with trainees is honking or verbal abuse: i tell trainees not to be discouraged by drivers' perceptions of their assertive riding and to consider what makes them safe first and foremost, making their own judgements as any other road user should.
I do think it is a difficult subject to broach and although I obviously have no figures to back up this perspective I would judge that the chances of it happening are low and that the risk mitigation benefits of assertive riding thus outweigh it significantly overall.
I might discuss with a trainee how to mitigate the possibility of such a situation developing in the first place by always being a polite and not provocative/aggressive road user - in the way someone might suggest someone driving mitigate the possibility that a physical confrontation erupt from their interaction with another driver (so-called 'road rage' incidents) or someone drinking mitigate the possibilty of dragging their friends into a fight over a spilled pint. :)
As when young trainees mention 'the mad person' or 'the fleeing criminal' on the road as a reason not to ride assertively, I would definitely emphasise that such incidents are very much the exception rather than the rule, and thus should not be the examples which guide one's overall riding style
As with the criticism sometimes levelled by other road users at assertive riders, I would emphasise that a trainee's decision to minimise risk to themselves by riding assertively is not a provocative act in itself, and that they should not feel responsible for the unreasonable actions of others.