Abuse of Power

THE clearinghouse on police-perpetrated domestic violence

...providing a needed resource for victims and advocates

Article Section

Female Officers as Victims of Police-Perpetrated Domestic Violence (Excerpt)

The purpose of this article is to increase advocates' knowledge of how the expectations and values of the female officer's profession and workplace culture influence her behavior and decisions regarding her abusive relationship. We will discuss some of the ways the police culture can contribute to the isolation of its female members and condition them to tolerate and even accept men's disrespect, negative attitudes, and potentially, domestic abuse. We will look at some of the ways that the police culture serves to mirror and reinforce the dynamics of the abusive relationship. Though the same can be said of many other male-dominated workplace cultures, what makes victims in the police profession particularly vulnerable is that they must rely on the integrity of their own colleagues and supervisors to provide the intervention and protection of the law.

Because so few female officers seek formal assistance, most advocates and professionals, including police supervisors, have little exposure to the problem and few resources to draw from. Current domestic violence statistics estimate 30% of women in the general population will experience domestic violence; research on police families reports the incidence to be as high as 40%. This means that at current staffing levels 27,000 to 36,000 female officers may be domestic violence victims.

Many police agencies actively recruit female officers, but the profession remains an overwhelmingly male-dominated one. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that females represent 11% of local full-time sworn officers, 13% of sheriffs and 16% of Federal officers.

The informal (peer) culture does not fully welcome female officers. Survival in a hostile work environment of both overt and subtle sexual harassment and discrimination requires female officers to develop coping techniques and strategies. They learn to overlook, minimize, deny and joke about what is actually offensive and demoralizing. The workplace dynamics that require her to tolerate men's abusive behavior make a female officer especially vulnerable to verbal, emotional, sexual and psychological abuse in her intimate relationship.

It may be rare that advocates receive a request for assistance from a female officer. When they do, however, they should see this as an indication that the abuse has escalated to an extremely volatile point, as many police officers would approach an advocate only as a last resort.

When exploring her options, the advocate can encourage the victim to consider what she already knows about her employing department. This might help her predict how the department will respond if she reports the abuse, and help her decide what steps she is willing to take. Anticipating the potential outcomes of her actions can assist her in preparing for those outcomes.

How a department responds when an employee or employees are involved in police-perpetrated domestic violence defines the integrity, philosophy and policy of the agency.