Sexual Harassment in Police Organizations: Applying the Lens of Organizational Culture and Climate

Between 2018 and 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC, 2022) received 27,291 charges alleging workplace sexual harassment, and 78.2% of those charges were filed by women. Although there are efforts to paint sexual harassment as a crime, instead of a boogeyman that all working professionals must look out for, it still remains largely underreported, especially in areas with obvious sex/gender imbalances (Taylor et al., 2020). Sexual harassment is a prevailing challenge to the workplace given that harassers hold power over those who survive such incidences, and that power intersects with demographic characteristics (i.e., age, race/ethnicity, sex/gender), need for employment, and organizational hierarchy (Ford & Ivancic, 2020). Research on the consequences of sexual harassment in the workforce predominantly focuses on individual-level impacts, ignoring how sexual harassment impacts organizations (Willness et al., 2007). Focusing on the impacts to organizations is warranted because such incidences can test an organization’s stability. Specifically, sexual harassment is a negative phenomenon that forces organizations to examine their policies and procedures. Given its prevalence and the negative consequences felt by survivors and organizations, it is important to understand what factors make an organization fertile ground for sexual harassment, which can further help guide potential prevention strategies.