“Warning: Transgender”: The Challenges and Triumphs of Transgender Police Officers and Staff

• In Event: POLWG Panel 24. Diversity in Policing: Cop Culture, diversity policies and experiences of officers and staff

Abstract

Amidst a documented rise in transphobia within the UK, transgender police officers and staff navigate the intersectional friction between their police identity and trans identity. Within policing, trans officers and staff are intrinsically bound to an inherently powerful institution, but their transness positions them as inherently vulnerable both in and outside the uniform. Informed by interviews with five transgender police officers and staff who transitioned while serving in forces across England and Wales, this research explores the complex intersections of policing, trans identities and efforts to push for equality, diversity and inclusion within the institution. It explores notions of ‘acceptable’ trans bodies within policing, highlighting the differences between the transwomen participants and their transmen counterparts. Transwomen disclosed experiences of workplace discrimination, hostility, and hate crime from members of the public (both on and off duty), resulting in profound impacts to their mental, emotional and physical safety and well-being, alongside impacting their ability to carry out their roles within the police. Whilst the transmen participants experienced discomfort and points of awkwardness, they were less likely to experience the same level of hostility directed at transwomen. Instead, they observed their transwomen colleagues being subject to discriminatory rhetoric, some of which was communicated directly to them as the transgender lead for their forces. I end on a discussion of the resilience demonstrated by the participants in the face of discrimination and isolation, recognising their continued efforts to effect positive change within the institution.

Author

• Ryan Peacey, Liverpool John Moores University