SEXUAL HARASSMENT, RETALIATION RIFE IN MAJOR U.S. POLICE DEPARTMENTS- REPORTS

Sat 10 December 2022:

In a number of major police and sheriff’s departments across the United States, female officers face little protection from fellow officers or supervisors who prey on them, an NBC news exclusive report said on Friday.

Harassment is present despite existing policies that are supposed to protect female officers, and police and sheriff’s departments in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Chicago have paid more than $40 million to settle harassment- and abuse-related lawsuits, the report said.

The #MeToo movement sparked a societal reckoning against sexual misconduct, ushering in reforms designed to reduce workplace harassment and prompting the firing of abusive men in a variety of industries, the report said, but added that many women in law enforcement say the movement has yet to arrive.

A review of more than 60 lawsuits that were settled or won and an analysis of internal police documents show that sexual harassment and gender discrimination remain rife in some of the largest police departments, the report said.

Moreover, many of those accused of harassment do not face significant punishment, the report also said.

Female police officers have pointed out that the harassment and discrimination lawsuits capture only a slice of the problem because many women never pursue legal action and internal abuse complaints are not made public, the report added.

In most if not all of the cases, the settlements have been reached without any admission of liability, according to the report.

The problems appear to be systemic. Female victims’ lives are often upended after they come forward because of flawed internal reporting systems that result in accusers’ identities getting out and a culture of retaliation, according to officers who sued.

Many officers who are accused of sexual abuse and harassment aren’t fired or even demoted, according to a review of department rosters in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

Some end up getting promoted.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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