Trans firefighter from Northern Ireland, Karen McDowell, has been awarded an MBE in the 2021 New Years honours list for her LGBTQ+ advocacy work and service to her community. The station commander transitioned 10 years ago, and since then has continued to promote greater acceptance of trans and gender diverse people within the NI Fire and Rescue Service.
McDowell, who said she was “shocked and humbled” to receive the honour, told the Belfast Telegraph: “Attitudes now are very different from what they were 10 years ago. There would have been a lot more open prejudice and it [transitioning] wasn’t in the mainstream media the way it is now. People would have been afraid to express how that felt and that would have [been] prevalent.”
Michael Graham, Northern Ireland’s chief fire & rescue officer, congratulated McDowell in a statement: “Karen is a strong, empathetic and admired role model in NIFRS and I would like to congratulate her on this distinguished and well deserved honour…she has brought great insight to the fire service family both locally and nationally in enhancing diversity and equality. She has been instrumental in helping us to build an inclusive and diverse organisation.”
He continued: “Karen’s tenacious desire for equality and inclusion is an example to us all and we are proud of the positive difference she continues to make to her colleagues, our organisation and people she helps to keep safe in our community.” Another honour went to Joanne Monck, a trans woman who is an LGBTQ+ activist and advisor to the Sussex Police on hate crime. Monck tweeted: “So proud to be a recipient of an OBE for Services to Transgender Equality.”
