Sexual harassment in the workplace: Employee rights and protection concepts in a German police organization

• In Event: Human Trafficking and Vulnerable Populations

Abstract

Experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace is not a rare phenomenon (Ilies et al., 2003; Schröttle et al. 2019) and it also takes place in the police force (Brown et al., 2018; De Haas et al. 2009; Taylor at al., 2022). Nevertheless, little is known about the scope and extent of sexual harassment in the police force in Europe. There is also hardly any scientific knowledge about the existence, preparation and awareness of institutional protection concepts and employee rights regarding sexual harassment and sexual violence in the police context.
Using data from a quantitative study of 138 police officers of a German metropolitan police organization, this presentation provides an overview on the prevalence of sexual harassment experienced in the police organization. The special focus is on the presentation of the dissemination of knowledge about rights and protections regarding sexual harassment in the workplace. It can be shown that around 30 % of the respondents had never been formally informed of their possibilities by their employer, while further 22 % were unsure about this. In contrast, 70 % stated that they knew which person they could turn to officially if they had experienced a sexual transgression. It is also discussed which preventive measures the police officers surveyed consider necessary and useful.

Authors

• Anabel Taefi, Hamburg Police University

• Ulrike Zaehringer, Hamburg Police University of Applied Sciences

• Julia Clasen, Hamburg Police University