The similarity of responses not only to this question but to other questions will provide a body of support to the argument that the survey has provided a substantive picture of how women are experiencing life as a firefighter. From table thirty one it can be identified that none of the respondents pursued a formal complaint against their harassers, despite the continuing harassment that some of them are experiencing. However, the research has not identified at what stage in their service this was achieved and how far the harassment had got before they reacted. The remainder do not have such confidence and the approach suggested in chapter two, to empower women and their supporters to speak out against harassment, appears worthy in this context. This could be the start of an opening of male culture for women and these men would need to be identified in further research where their comments could be invaluable.
Figures are only available for two years, so no long term trends can be identified.
Interviews with these women and a sample of the men may provide the greatest insight to harassment in the fire service and attempts should be made in any further research to do this. Additional comments from one case For the first few months everything seemed to run smoothly I felt reasonable happy. Generally they would get up and walk out of the rooms when I walked in, sometimes it would go quiet. If they cooked I was never asked if I wanted a meal. I was not invited out socially and they would lie to prevent me finding out.