Female ambulance staff subjected to ‘macho and sexualised’ culture

A ‘macho’ culture within ambulance trusts is leading to widespread abuse of female staff.

HSJ has been told of multiple cases including sexual misconduct, harassment or abuse against staff in the last two and a half years. These include:

• women being told that giving sexual favours would help them get on to paramedic training
• a woman who was told she would pass her driving course if she gave oral sex to a superior
• a student on placement who could not take off her jacket without comments being passed on her breasts, and therefore would wear it even on the hottest days
• a student given a lift by her supervisor who then proceeded to rub his hands up and down her legs during the journey.

In a freedom of information request, the 10 ambulance trusts in England were asked for the number of incidents in which allegations of sexual misconduct, harassment or abuse had been made against staff.

The trusts reported 221 cases since April 2019, of which at least 27 resulted in dismissal and at least 44 resulted in other disciplinary action, with some cases still under investigation.

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Source: HSJ, 7 December 2021