I posted the following reply to this COURAGEOUS firefighter in the UK who continues to "shine a light" on the sexism and misogyny that apparently "alive and well" in the London Fire Brigade and other fire brigades in the UK. Antonia, do whatever you must do but PLEASE do not let the ba$tards prevail by taking your own life! I hope that the supportive comments in this space are helping you to keep your "head above water!" But it's not solely a problem in the fire service culture in the UK. Sexism and misogyny are both "alive and well" in too many fire departments around the globe, including the U.S. and Canada.
Read More »Tag Archives: sexism and misogyny in fire service
Men could stop sexual harassment in the fire service tomorrow
By: Robert Avsec, Executive Fire Officer Update: I’ve updated this post because I was moved by the courageous post I read today from a fire service colleague, Angie Hughes, Captain (Ret.) Baltimore County (Mary.) Fire Department. Or today, if it’s early enough in the day. Men in the fire service need to “step up” and call out sexist and misogynistic ...
Read More »Sexual Harassment in the Fire Service: How Can You Not Know?
I’ve said it before in this space, and I’m saying it again, white males have created this culture in the fire service and only white males can fix it. And this is not a problem to be fixed with training and education.
Read More »Continuing Leadership Problems in a Fire Department
By: Robert Avsec, Executive Fire Officer This is the title of a recent post from my fire service colleague and attorney, Curt Varone, on his blog, Fire Law: Fairfax County’s Highest Female Officer Resigns From Women’s Program Officer Position WOW! There’s no other word that even comes close to describing my thoughts after reading Chief Stanley’s letter of resignation. After ...
Read More »Rape in the fire service: A story revisited
Sexual assaults and rape being perpetrated on our sister firefighters by their colleagues–and in many cases their leaders–isn’t a women’s issue that they can solve. It’s a failure of fire department leadership and that means it’s up to the men who occupy the majority of leadership positions in the fire service to eradicate this blight from our profession.
Read More »More on Pregnant Firefighters–And It’s Not Good!
By: Robert Avsec, Executive Fire Officer Thank you to all of you who read last week’s post and Liked it and sent along your comments on its content and intent. But if you look back at the post, you’ll notice that I’ve done some editing. I removed some of the pictures from the article and replaced them. Why? Because I ...
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