Chair of fire service rocked by' sexism and misogyny' to step down

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue is set for a new chair after Rebecca Knox has confirmed she is stepping down.

The woman who has governed the fire service that serves the Swindon area since 2016 will not be running for re-election.

This year, Ms Knox appeared before a Home Affairs Committee that was looking into serious allegations made against fire services across the country.

This comes following an independent review last year which found a ‘culture of misogyny and sexism’ within the service.

A spokesperson for Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue said: “Councillor Rebecca Knox remains in post as the chair of Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority.

“Some time ago she took the decision not to stand for re-election this May, in the Dorset Council local election.

“She will therefore cease being a councillor, and therefore chair of the Fire and Rescue Authority, on Tuesday, May 7.

“This was publicly announced at the Fire Authority meeting on February 8 2024.”

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue’s ‘problem with employing women’ which was denied by both Knox, and Chief Fire Officer Ben Ansell was exacerbated when reports of firefighters sharing pictures of dead female bodies on WhatsApp surfaced.

This sparked a number of whistleblowers to come forward to share their experiences with harassment and abuse within the service.

This led to Mr Ansell commissioning a report in January 2023.

From speaking to around 200 current and former members of staff, the review, which was released in October 2023, found evidence of gaslighting, coercive and controlling behaviours towards female staff, sexual harassment and inappropriate touching.

Further examples of reported behaviour included male use of female toilets, sexist and misogynist jokes, and allegations of pornographic images being shared between colleagues.

According to the findings, these actions often went unchallenged by the service.

The Advertiser reported the experience of one firefighter who had been sent videos of her male colleagues masturbating, touched when it was unwanted, had seen colleagues watching porn and comparing naked women with each other.

She was also told that if she ‘had sex’ with colleagues she would get further in her career.

She shared WhatsApp messages sent between female firefighters that all contained similar stories with women asking what to do, or who to turn to.

But, she added that there was not much point in complaining.

She said: “Complaining is the worst thing to do. They will always favour the hierarchy. I have witnessed it too many times, staff feeling disappointed they spoke up, with huge regret.”