Officers on notice in Equal Opportunity Commission report into sexual harassment and discrimination in police force
PULLING on a colleague’s nipple, serial bullying, trivialising rape and threatening a partner are among incidents that have resulted in disciplinary action against SA Police officers and staff since mid 2010.
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Read below: Comments from SA Police employees
PULLING on a colleague’s nipple, serial bullying, trivialising rape and threatening a partner are among incidents that have resulted in disciplinary action against SA Police officers and staff since mid 2010.
Among them are senior officers ranked sergeant, inspector and higher.
Penalties ranged from counselling to being placed on an intervention order.
The details are outlined in a report into sexual harassment and discrimination in the police force, released on Monday.
Compiled by the Equal Opportunity Commission, it shows there were 41 sexual harassment complaints made to the SA Police Equity and Diversity Unit between July, 2010, and May this year, of which 23 were proven.
A further 24 sex discrimination or harassment claims were lodged with the Internal Investigation Section over the same period, of which eight were proven.
In one case, a staff member had an intervention order imposed after they “inundated” a victim with text messages and phone calls to the point where the person was “concerned for (their) own safety”. The report does not clearly identify the staff member’s rank, but they were either a community constable or a brevet sergeant.
Another staff member of the same level was placed on an order after sending threatening messages to their partner and accessing their phone messages.
Yet another was counselled after making abusive phone calls and turning up “irate” at their victim’s home.
One-third of the 2000 SA Police members who completed an online survey run by the Equal Opportunity Commission reported they had experienced sexual harassment.
Equal Opportunity Commissioner Niki Vincent said the most common forms were “suggestive comments or jokes, intrusive questions ... comments on physical appearance and unwelcome touching, hugging or cornering”.
Dr Vincent recommended an overhaul of the police internal complaints process, including a new unit staffed by trained mediators, and more widespread training on sexism and gender bias.
SA Police Assistant Commissioner Bryan Fahy has been appointed to lead a team responsible for ensuring the recommendations are implemented.
SA Police is a White Ribbon accredited organisation and Commissioner Grant Stevens has repeatedly stressed that officers take reports of domestic violence seriously.
Other incidents in the report include:
A SENIOR officer, of inspector-level or higher, who “rubbed (their victim’s) back seductively and pulled on (their) nipple”.
A SUPERVISOR, of sergeant or senior sergeant level, was “counselled” after making sexist and racist jokes in a training session. They also “trivialised rape”, according to the report.
AN officer of a similar rank was required to undergo training after making sexually charged comments and repeatedly bullying and intimidating others.
TWO low-ranked SA Police members who circulated racist and sexist emails received “managerial support”.
COMMENTS FROM SA POLICE EMPLOYEES
“I have met so many men in the job whose behaviours have been bad towards women, and the bosses were often involved in perpetuating this behaviour. There were no women in senior positions to speak to.”
“SAPOL is still a ‘boys’ club’ and many of the behaviours ... are learnt from other, mostly senior men. Women are still belittled and treated as ‘second class’.”
“There appears to be an expectation that as a female officer, you tolerate the harassment with clenched teeth and a smile and that, in fact, you should be flattered as it means you’ve been accepted and are part of the team.”
“I was hit on by many married men. From (my) first day, my boss made a comment full of sexual innuendo. I asked him one time at work ‘are you staring at my breasts?’ and he said ‘yes, I find it comforting’.”
“After one night shift, the team I was in thought it would be good to have pizza and a beer and watch porn on the big screen in the conference room. I was the only woman in the team. I felt like I’d be ostracised if I didn’t stay. I felt awful.”
“I feel a constant need to not be offended. I use words like c*** and d*** regularly to show that I don’t care and will not put in complaint.”
“To be part of the team, I needed to be more than my male counterparts — more dedicated, more hardworking, prove myself more, take less leave.”
“Women who do stand up against the lower-level sexual harassment behaviours, in particular, can be labelled as prudish or complainers. It’s a tightrope that women have to walk.”
“I have been (managing critical incidents) and had male colleagues arrive and say to me ‘grab us a coffee would you, darling?’.”
“It was common for male officers to rate a victim, or witnesses, for their attractiveness. They would also rate new policewomen coming into the team. This would happen in front of me and other women.”
“If a victim attended the police station and detailed to me the incidents I have just described, I would be strongly encouraging that person to pursue criminal charges.”
“I have been told by a male supervisor ... ‘I have a penis, you’re a woman, you ... will always be a sexual object to me’.”
“A new senior member started on our team. He would tell me things like ‘I want to impregnate you’. I started getting more and more text messages including comments about his penis.”
“There was an occasion where men on my team called me at home while they were away on a work trip to ask me about my breast size, which they had been speculating about together.”
“After a work barbecue at which we had all been drinking, a teammate ... had sex with me. I didn’t want to, but I was so affected by alcohol I couldn’t stop him. I have never consumed alcohol around any workmates from then onwards.”
“I have experienced being picked up by the back of my vest and paraded around by males seeking to prove how strong they are.”
“I am in a same-sex relationship. I have had a male colleague ask me (for a) threesome with him.”
Source: The Equal Opportunity Commission review into sexual harassment and discrimination in SA Police