Work

Challenging the unchallenged: Institutional barriers to addressing sexual harassment in policing

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Internal sexual harassment persists in UK policing, yet the social mechanisms sustaining silence remain under-specified. We report findings from a vignette-based, anonymous survey of employees in a large UK police force. Across victim and witness scenarios, participants favoured informal resolution over formal complaint, citing organizational distrust, opaque procedures, fear of ostracism, rank hierarchies, and the normalization of ‘banter’. Gendered expectations and shorter tenure further discourage challenges to harassment. Suggested reforms included clearer policies, confidential multi-path reporting, enhanced training—especially bystander roles—and restorative justice for lower-level harms. By foregrounding witnesses and men, we show how occupational solidarity and masculinity shape a bystander calculus that reproduces silence, while also identifying institutional levers for reform.

Source: The British Journal of Criminology

DOI: 10.1093/bjc/azag004

Authors: Lali Magsi, Paul Ottaro, Barak Ariel

Institution: Birmingham City University

Language: English

Topic: Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies

Subfield: Gender Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Gender equality, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $5,341