Two dozen complaints of sexual harassment at Fire and Emergency NZ in five years

Monday, 3 August 2020

Five women 1 NEWS has spoken to say they were sexually abused or harassed while working at the agency.

Twenty-four complaints of sexual harassment have been made by staff at Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) in the past five years, with three staff members dismissed.

Figures published on Fenz’s website reveal 15 of the complaints were made by volunteer firefighters and five came from members of the public.

Of the complaints, nine were upheld, four were referred to police and three staff members were dismissed. Five complaints continue to be investigated.

Fenz defines sexual harassment as “any unwelcome or offensive sexual behaviour that is repeated, or significant enough as a single incident to have a harmful effect on a person”.

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“It may involve spoken or written material, images, digital material or a physical act.”

It comes as several former and current Fenz staff spoke to 1NEWS about sexual assaults and harassment in the organisation, with calls for the establishment of an independent complaints body.

Nikyta told 1NEWS her dream job as a firefighter turned to a nightmare after she was sexually assaulted by another firefighter when she was 20.

“You try and do the best to move on and deal with it in the best way possible but I still have nights where I wake up and it’s horrible.”

Nikyta took a couple of years to comprehend what happened to her before making a complaint to Fenz.

She told 1NEWS she felt Fenz “wanted the problem to go away.”

After she filed a police report, officers contacted her to say they couldn’t find out who was responsible due to a lack of evidence.

Another former Fenz worker, Jaymie, told 1NEWS she was raped while working at Fenz 16 years ago.

“This was a person I trusted. I didn’t even know how to process it. It was such an unexpected assault. And then when I went to get help, nobody would listen to me or believe me,” she said.

Jaymie said the police officer she tried to report the assault to was friend’s with the alleged offender and told her “girls like you are disposable”.

After nearly two decades of Jaymie fighting for accountability, Fenz apologised for how her complaint was handled.

“I accepted it because I’m tired. I felt very coerced and bullied into accepting it,” she said.

Incidents reported by Fenz included offensive sexual remarks or jokes, unwelcome touching or intrusive personal questions, or sexual assault. Any complaint about sexual harassment that Fenz believed could meet the criteria for a criminal investigation was referred to police.

Fenz said it recognised there were “significant barriers” to reporting sexual harassment, including the fear of consequences for reporting bullying or speaking up against unacceptable behaviour.

Prior to 2017, the organisations that now form part of Fenz had different definitions of sexual harassment, no active requirement to report, and different ways of reporting.

“We expect and want more people to make complaints as they feel increasingly safe to do so,” Fenz said.

“That’s why we introduced an interim complaints process while we work on a permanent solution.”

BULLYING AND HARASSMENT ‘A FEATURE OF THE FENZ WORKPLACE’

Retired judge Coral Shaw published an independent review into Fenz in 2019, which said there was “no doubt” that bullying and harassment featured “at all levels and across all regions”.

Shaw said the perception that it was a thing of the past was wrong, and the agency had “unacceptable levels of racism, sexism and homophobia”.

“This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed.”

The review heard of examples where bullying behaviour had been overlooked, downplayed or excused because the perpetrator was perceived to be a “hero firefighter”, an important manager, a long-serving volunteer, or a union member.

Almost half of the respondents reported witnessing or experiencing bullying or harassment in Fenz. Only 43 per cent reported it.

Some respondents described an environment in which sexism and sexual harassment was not uncommon.

“[I] have witnessed team leaders and higher make sexist, racist, homophobic and transphobic comments openly at work – no repercussions,” one respondent said.

The report made 33 recommendations, including taking steps to address past industrial issues to ensure Fenz provided a safe environment free of bullying and harassment.

Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin said Fenz “deserves some credit for trying to tackle the behavioural issues in the organisation”.

“What I want to see is an organisation that is more representative of the communities it serves and where everyone in it feels and is safe.

“I know the organisation is trying to address these issues and is having those conversations because I’ve been part of them.”

Progress had to be made “quickly”, Martin said.

“I’ve spoken to the Fenz chair today (Monday) and he has explained what the plan is around the independent process.”