Ambulance staff face daily sexual abuse, report reveals

Staff at the London Ambulance Service (LAS) are facing sexual abuse almost every day while on duty, according to a report by the service. The incidents include sexual threats, groping, indecent exposure, explicit comments, and sexual violence. Almost a third of emergency phone operators have experienced sexual harassment, while paramedics face physical sexual abuse in addition to inappropriate comments.

Staff experiences and reported incidents

In the 12 months from July 2025 to July 2026, staff reported a total of 462 incidents of abuse. The report indicates that almost two-thirds of women working on ambulances experienced unwanted sexual behaviour from patients, service users, relatives, or the public in the previous year. Furthermore, more than one in five frontline ambulance colleagues who reported such behaviour stated it occurred at least three times during the year.

Paramedic Gosha Graf shared her experience of being groped by a patient while assessing him. She later discovered that the same patient had sexually assaulted another paramedic earlier that day after refusing treatment. The patient was subsequently jailed for 18 weeks for sexual assault in March this year. Graf stated that this behaviour is not harmless and should not be dismissed, noting that the man had called 999 specifically to abuse staff.

LAS response and new legislation

Jason Killens, chief executive of LAS, described the behaviour as disgusting and highlighted its impact on emergency care, potentially taking crews off the road and delaying help for other patients. He urged the public to call out such behaviour and encouraged staff to provide evidence to the police. Chief paramedic Pauline Cranmer added that responding with sexual abuse is a betrayal and that the service will not accept or excuse such actions.

The LAS has launched a campaign called 'We show up. Show some respect', using CCTV and body-worn camera footage to highlight the sexualised comments and inappropriate touching crews endure. Earlier this year, legislation was strengthened to protect women from sex-based harassment. In a Metropolitan Police case, a man received a three-month jail sentence for harassing London paramedic Ella Johnson, marking the first conviction under the new law.

What happens next

The London Ambulance Service is continuing its campaign to raise awareness and encourage respect for its staff. The recent conviction under new legislation suggests a firmer stance against perpetrators of harassment and abuse against emergency service workers.